Earlier this month, the Food and Drug Administration released a report offering guidance to the food industry on steps that can be taken to help reduce the amount of acrylamide in our food supply. Acrylamide is a chemical that’s created during certain conditions of cooking, and it has been classified by the National Toxicology Program as “reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen.”
While acrylamide has been a suspected harmful chemical for more than a decade, the newly released report has served to fuel the public’s unease. Should we be concerned? The answer, it seems, is similar to that for other known or suspected carcinogens — such as sunlight, alcohol and pollution. That is, we should probably try to reduce our exposure, to be on the safe side, but the evidence does not indicate that small amounts are harmful. In fact, the only evidence we have so far is from animal studies, where animals fed very high doses of acrylamide developed cancer.
[Read: Should You Fear Chemicals in Your Food?]
Here are five things you should know about acrylamide:
1. It’s produced naturally by some foods during the cooking process. Acrylamide is formed when high heat is used to cook starchy foods. Frying, baking, broiling and roasting produce the most acrylamide, while lower heat methods such as boiling, steaming or microwaving produce much less. Organic foods are equally as likely to produce acrylamide as conventionally grown foods.
2. To cut down on acrylamide, keep your eye on the top offenders. While levels of acrylamide in food vary widely, foods that consistently show higher levels are French fries and potato chips. Other food products that tend to be higher in this chemical are grains that have been cooked at a high heat, such as cookies, crackers, breakfast cereal and toasted bread. Coffee also contains acrylamide, so try to switch to tea or water after your morning java fix. Finally, cigarette smoke contains acrylamide, which is just one more reason to kick the nicotine habit.
3. Simple kitchen hacks can help. You can produce less acrylamide in the food you cook at home by knowing a few tricks. First, go for light brown toast rather than dark brown, and a golden yellow instead of deeper brown when baking or frying frozen French fries. Make sure to store your potatoes in the pantry and not the refrigerator, as the latter will produce more acrylamide. Soaking raw, sliced potatoes for 15 to 30 minutes before cooking can also help reduce acrylamide — and opt for baking potatoes over broiling or frying.
[See: 7 Kitchen Items You Need to Replace to Protect Your Health.]
4. Aim for balancing your diet with low-acrylamide foods. According to the FDA, the best approach to reduce the threat of acrylamide to your health is to focus on eating an overall healthy diet, emphasizing fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy products, lean meats, beans, eggs and nuts. All of these foods tend to be very low in acrylamide, with the exception of some grains. However, the FDA points out that whole grains should still be encouraged, due to the substantial evidence that they promote health. Limiting fried foods and processed snack foods like chips, crackers and cookies will help reduce unnecessary fats and also help reduce exposure to acrylamides.
5. The food industry is actively working on novel ways to reduce acrylamide in foods. Part of the FDA’s approach to help reduce the amount of acrylamide in food involves working behind the scenes with the food industry. For example, the FDA offers guidance to encourage industry to adopt known cooking techniques that can be used to help reduce the production of acrylamide, such as frying potatoes or chips at a lower temperature. Various growing and handling methods have been shown to lead to lower levels of acrylamide production. Research continues on specific food ingredients that can discourage the production of acrylamide. A genetically modified potato has also been introduced to reduce the amount of acrylamide produced when making French fries, but it has not been embraced by major food chains due to concerns over consumer acceptance of GMOs. Other food science efforts are focused on finding coffee beans that produce less acrylamide when roasted and identifying grain mixtures that can produce less acrylamide for crackers and breakfast cereals.
[See: 6 Healthy Foods Worth Splurging On .]
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5 Things You Should Know About Acrylamide originally appeared on usnews.com
