12/02
Abstract
Acrylamide
Prepared by: Barbara Brown, Ph.D., R.D./L.D.
Food Specialist
104 HES, Room 321
OCES,
405-744-6824
IMPLICATIONS FOR COOPERATIVE EXTENSION. The potential carcinogen
acrylamide has been found in a wide variety of food favorites of many
Oklahomans. However, until more is
known, including whether or not acrylamide is a human carcinogen, it is important
to continue to eat a balanced diet high in fruits, vegetables, and whole
grains. People should focus on diets
lower in foods high in acrylamide. That
would mean limiting the amount of fried potato and snack foods eaten.
In April, 2002, researchers at the Swedish National
Food Administration and
Acrylamide appears to form as a byproduct of
high-temperature cooking (greater than 248°F). It does not appear to be present
in food before cooking. At this time, not enough is known about its formation
to identify safe changes to food processing that will clearly prevent or reduce
formation. Understanding how it is formed will be an important step in
identifying ways to reduce or prevent formation during cooking.
People have been eating some of the foods now
reported to contain acrylamide for many years. To better assess the risk more
information is needed about which foods acrylamide is formed in, levels of
acrylamide in foods, dietary exposure, the bioavailability of acrylamide in
food, the potential of acrylamide to cause cancer when eaten in food, and biomarkers of acrylamide exposure.
Acrylamide causes cancer in laboratory animals.
However, it is not clear whether it causes cancer in humans. Scientists have
conducted epidemiological studies of people exposed to acrylamide in the
workplace. The studies did not show increased cancer risk with acrylamide
exposure. However, these studies do not rule out the possibility that
acrylamide in food can cause cancer, both because of the limited number of
people in the studies and because the route of exposure for the workers was not
through food.
Acrylamide (continued)
formation. As more data become
available on acrylamide, FDA will continue to develop
public health messages and regulatory options.
The agency plans a “total diet study” using
store-bought samples of foods. The findings, weighted to reflect the quantities
of each food consumed, will be summed to estimate an individual’s typical daily
intake of acrylamide.
A preliminary assessment of human exposures was
presented in September by the Center for Food Nutrition Policy at the Virginia
Polytechnic Institute and
These estimates all exceed the EPA’s 0.2 µg/kg per
day recommended limit for consumption in drinking water. However EPA has said
that the impact of consumption at even their low limit remains unknown.
In an attempt to resolve acrylamide’s risk, FDA will
begin short-term animal tests to compare how much acrylamide the body takes up
from drinking water compared to food. If the availability of the compound from
these two sources proves similar, then existing toxicological data—performed to
evaluate acrylamide’s use in water-treatment plants—can be used to gauge
impacts from low-dose exposures in food. If the body takes up acrylamide more
readily from food than from water, then new studies may be needed.
References:
Raloff, J. (2002) FDA launches acrylamide
investigations. Science News Online. Volume 162,
Number 15 (October 12). http://www.sciencenews.org/20021012/food.asp
CSPI. (2002) New
tests confirm acrylamide in American foods. Center for
Science in the Public Interest press release. June 25. http://www.cspinet.org/new/200206251.html.
Food and Drug
Administration. (2002) Assessing acrylamide in the