When exposed to the high temperature used in the frying/baking process, the starches in potato chips start to form acrylamide. If you want to fry or roast potatoes, do so only until they are golden yellow, not browned. Other steps that lower acrylamide exposure include washing and soaking potatoes before cooking; baking them at a lower temperature (250°F/120°C); and not storing them in the refrigerator or in the cold (the compounds that contribute to acrylamide formation increase at temperatures below 46°F/8°C). The World Health Organization, the U.S. National Toxicology Program and the International Agency for Research on Cancer have all deemed acrylamide a likely or probable human carcinogen, based on animal studies. Not only do chips – whether made from potatoes or corn – add empty calories and truckloads of salt to your diet, they might also increase your risk of cancer. Like potato chips, tortilla chips form acrylamide during the heating process. The researchers concluded that “reducing dietary acrylamide intake among pregnant women might be beneficial for fetal growth.”. In one, higher dietary acrylamide intake in pregnant women, which correlated with blood acrylamide levels, was linked to a reduction in fetal growth. Carbohydrate-rich foods such as bread, roasted coffee beans, cooked potato products such as chips, crisps and roasted potatoes and some cereal and wheat products have the highest content of acrylamide. For instance, Utz's Home Style Kettle-Cooked Potato Chips scored the lowest of all tested potato chips with 117 per billion (ppb) of acrylamide, while the first lot of Utz Crisp All Natural Potato Chips contained a whopping 879 ppb of acrylamide. Tortilla chips are made by cutting corn tortillas into wedges and then frying or baking those wedges. Taking the issue seriously, the food industry has been devising strategies to reduce acrylamide—for example, by altering cooking times, temperature and methods and by using ingredients such as citric acid salts, ascorbic acid, lactic acid bacteria, calcium, enzymes and antioxidants to help block the formation of acrylamide. Interestingly, however, the acrylamide levels in the tested tortilla chips were lower than in most potato chips. Sources of acrylamide in the diet include French fries, potato chips, other fried By one estimate, 38 percent of calories in the U.S. come from acrylamide-containing foods. No single step can lower acrylamide across all foods, however, and reducing it often affects food quality and can increase costs. Sarah Pope MGA. Note that this article only focuses on the acrylamide aspect of chips – there are many other chemicals and nutrients that also affect the nutritional profile of various corn and potato chips. (Among other industrial uses, acrylamide is added to drinking water as a clarifying agent—some may remain as a contaminant, though levels are regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). But the study conducted by scientists with the Sweden National Food Administration also revealed that significant amounts of acrylamide are also present in many baked foods, including snacks such as baked chips and crackers, and in seemingly nonthreatening foods such as bagels, bread, cereal, roasted coffee, baby food and even home-cooked meals. Potato chips alone account for about 11%. The other linked higher acrylamide exposure during pregnancy to modestly reduced birth weight. Doubles Ovarian Cancer Risk: A study published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology found that women who ate one portion of chips per day (40 mcg acrylamide) had twice the risk of developing ovarian and endometrial cancer as women who ate less. Most Cape Cod chips … Acrylamide is a chemical of concern for Prop 65, and products should be labeled with the warning statement if not meeting requirements for Prop 65. Acrylamide tends to form when foods that are high in carbohydrates and/or an amino acid called asparagine are cooked at high temperatures. (The darker the color, the more acrylamide.) Workplace exposure to very high doses of acrylamide … Acrylamide can form naturally from chemical reactions in certain types of starchy foods, after cooking at high temperatures. Studies, including one last year in Food and Chemical Toxicology, have consistently found that potato chips, French fries and other fried potato products have the most acrylamide. The major food sources of acrylamide are French fries and potato chips; crackers, bread, and cookies; breakfast cereals; canned black olives; prune juice; and coffee. Still, lowering your intake is good advice, especially for pregnant women, infants and children, who may be especially vulnerable to the chemical’s effects. Decreased acrylamide concentrations in potato chips and crackers … And it’s a known neurotoxin at high occupational exposures. Other major source of acrylamide in modern diets include French fries, breads and bakery products, and cereals. (The darker the color, the more acrylamide.) Smokers are exposed to particularly high levels of acrylamide. Since the invention of cooking thousands of years ago, humans have been consuming acrylamide, along with other potentially risky high-heat byproducts, such as heterocyclic amines (see box). People who work in industries that make or use acrylamide can have higher exposures through skin contact or inhalation. Acrylamide can form when foods are fried or toasted to darker levels. Scientists are also looking at ways to alter plants to reduce the compounds that lead to greater acrylamide formation. Acrylamide was discovered in foods in April 2002 by Eritrean scientist Eden Tareke in Sweden; she found the chemical in starchy foods such as potato chips (potato crisps), French fries (chips), and bread that had been heated higher than 120 °C (248 °F). Production of acrylamide in the heating process was shown to be temperature-dependent. The FDA says that acrylamide, a chemical believed to cause cancer, has been found in 750 foods tested -- including black olives, prune juice, and even teething biscuits. Sarah Pope has been a Health and Nutrition Educator since 2002. Prune Juice. Both the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European authorities are monitoring acrylamide in foods, but whether levels are going down because of industry efforts, as some companies have claimed, is not yet clear. You can accomplish this simply by limiting French fries, chips, cookies, pastries, biscuits and pies, which tend to have the most acrylamide—and, of course, are also high in fat, calories and/or sodium. Cookie Preferences It has been just over a decade since Swedish scientists first raised concerns about acrylamide in the food supply after they detected this suspected carcinogen in starchy foods that had been heated to high temperatures. Acrylamide can also form in potato chips during frying. May 9, 2008 -- The chemical acrylamide -- found in French fries, potato chips, and even bread and coffee -- is known to cause cancer in … Laboratory tests show that acrylamide in the diet causes cancer in animals. Acrylamide is not something that is added to chips but it is formed during the heating process … Sources of acrylamide in the diet include French fries, potato chips, other fried and baked snack foods, roasted asparagus, canned sweet potatoes and pumpkin, canned … There are small amounts in some consumer products, such as caulk, food packaging, and some adhesives. Yet, as is often the case in nutrition, the devil is in the dose. 1 Tobacco smoke also contains acrylamide. In April 2018, the new European Union legislation around Acrylamide came into effect, providing manufacturers with ‘benchmarking levels’ to limit the amount of acrylamide in packaged foods, including potato chips, French fries, cereal, bread and bakery goods like biscuits and cereal bars, as well as baby food. When fat drips on the heat source, plumes of smoke can coat meat with other dangerous chemicals. The same goes for toasting your bread—don’t char or burn it. Chips, or crisps if you grew up English, contain a chemical called acrylamide. Do Not Sell My Info Decreased acrylamide concentrations in potato chips and crackers suggest that some mitigating strategies are being used by industry; however, the continued presence of acrylamide in … Grilling and other methods that expose meat to very high temperatures create potentially cancer-causing compounds called heterocyclic amines (HCAs). Storage of potatoes for long period under humid conditions induces sprouting which generates reducing sugars, which when used for processing to fries and chips show a very high content of acrylamide. But the chemical is also detected at lower levels in some healthier foods—namely breakfast cereals, crackers and bread, which we tend to eat a lot of. Three objectives were addressed: the impact of gastric digestion on acrylamide content of French Fries, chips, chicken nuggets, onions rings, breakfast cereals, biscuits, crackers, instant coffee and coffee substitute; the acrylamide content … Which foods contain acrylamide? Analysis of acrylamide in chocolate, chips, waffles, coffee and cacao powder using GC/MS with Agilent VF-5ms after liquid-liquid extraction with Agilent Chem Elut. Health Canada's studies of food likely to contain acrylamide found wide-ranging concentrations in potato chips, french fries, cookies, breakfast cereals, bread, as well as other foods that are also processed at high temperatures such as coffee, roasted almonds, and … Boiling and steaming foods do not create acrylamide. She is a summa cum laude graduate in Economics from Furman University and holds a Master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania. Next up on our list of foods high in acrylamide is prune juice. The US FDA does not assign any maximum limits for acrylamide concentration in foods, nor have they assigned an action level for acrylamide content. Nonfood sources include cigarette smoke and, to a much lesser extent, drinking water. Acrylamide forms during frying, grilling, baking, roasting and toasting, when the amino acid asparagine (for example, in potatoes and grains) reacts with naturally occurring sugars—in something you may remember from high school chemistry class called the Maillard reaction, which gives the foods their brown color, crusty texture and distinctive taste. Accounting for acrylamide Studies, including one last year in Food and Chemical Toxicology, have consistently found that potato chips, French fries and other fried potato products have the most acrylamide. Privacy Policy Acrylamide is not something that is added to chips but it is formed during the heating process when the starches in potatoes react to the high temperature. Plus, acrylamide levels vary tremendously within the same types of foods, not only from brand to brand, but even from batch to batch, so it’s not possible to determine the exact amounts people consume. 220 Cal. Processed foods such as biscuits and crackers also contain some. Acrylamide is well documented to be formed in potato chips and fries due to the presence of its precursors, glucose and asparagine. ... ⚠ WARNING : Certain foods and beverages sold or served here can expose you to chemicals including acrylamide in many fried or baked foods, and mercury in fish, which are known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm. Scientists agree that acrylamide in food has the potential to cause cancer in humans as well. There’s no reason to give up cereal or other high-carbohydrate foods, but do choose ones made from whole grains, since their nutrients, fiber and phytochemicals may help protect against cancer and other diseases. However, if you really want to do yourself a favor, it is best to avoid chips altogether and snack on fresh fruit and veg instead! Chips and Nacho Cheese Sauce $ 1.79. EFSA confirms that acrylamide is a carcinogenic substance and that current levels of dietary exposure to acrylamide indicate a concern with respect to the carcinogenic effects. Black Turtle Bean: The Healthiest Bean on Earth? Moreover, according to assessments by an international scientific expert committee, dietary intake of acrylamide did not change between 2005 and 2010. EFSA stated that the levels of acrylamide were not consistently decreased in recent years. Acrylamide is something that many of us had … Boiling or steaming don’t cause acrylamide formation, but baking, roasting, and frying do. Potato chips or crisps are a predominant part of the snack food industry in North America and many other Western countries, including Great Britain. Boiling and steaming foods do not create acrylamide. It is also present in tobacco smoke. Acrylamide can definitely be harmful. What is acrylamide? More research is needed to determine whether acrylamide, at amounts typically consumed, is a health hazard. More recently, two studies in Environmental Health Perspectives suggested that acrylamide might adversely affect fetal development. Acrylamide’s potential health risks are hard to study, however. To put things into perspective, consider this: A one-ounce snack bag of potato chips that contain 1,000 ppb of acrylamide represents an amount of acrylamide that is just above the total average exposure by American afults. For Frito Lay, this is about a 20 percent reduction, while for Kettle Chips, which contain far more acrylamide, this is an 87 percent reduction in acrylamide. Acrylamide is a well-known potentially carcinogen compound formed during thermal processing as an intermediate of Maillard reactions. Unless you’re on a raw-foods diet, it’s nearly impossible to avoid all acrylamide—and there’s no reason to, anyway. The level depends on the crop variety, time of harvest and how the foods are stored, processed, and cooked, among other factors. chips; crisps; toast; cakes; biscuits; cereals; coffee; Potential health effects of acrylamide. You’re better off focusing on known ways to reduce the risk of cancer—in particular, by not smoking. You also create acrylamide when you cook food at home. EFSA adopted, in early June 2015, a scientific opinion on acrylamide in food. Lastly, though studies that use blood markers of acrylamide provide a more reliable measure of exposure, they can’t distinguish between food and nonfood sources. Most of the data come from population studies, in which people report what they have been eating—a notoriously inexact method. Cooking methods that tend to require high temperatures - like frying, roasting, and baking - are more likely to cause acrylamide … Acrylamide is particularly likely to be produced when foods are fried, baked, broiled or roasted, according to the ACS. According to data provided by the FDA/USDA, snack foods – including potato and tortilla chips – account for an estimated 25% of an average American intake of acrylamide. A well-designed study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2009 found increased inflammation and other risk factors for heart disease in people who ate potato chips (averaging five ounces a day), though other substances in the chips may have been at least partly to blame. The chemical can be … How to Find the Best Nut and Almond Milk Maker (for You), How to Reduce Acrylamide Levels in Coffee, The Much-Touted Weight Loss Benefits of Spirulina. Coffee, for example, is a big source of acrylamide exposure, yet studies consistently find that coffee has health benefits. Low Carb Coconut Chips Low Carb Fried Chicken. Attorney General’s Office Acrylamide Agreement with KFC | Agreement with Potato Chip Manufacturers Acrylamide is formed in some baked, fried and roasted foods. American Cancer Society: Acrylamide Baked Chips as Bad or Worse than Fried? The most recent European report found an overall decrease in only a few food categories—and increases in others—between 2007 and 2010. Some foods with higher levels of acrylamide include French fries, potato chips, foods made from grains (such as breakfast cereals, cookies, and toast), and coffee. Some studies have linked acrylamide to endometrial, ovarian and kidney cancer, for example, but not to bladder, breast or prostate cancer. Over the years, scientists have also found acrylamide in roasted nuts, peanut butter, olives, some dried fruit, coffee, and other foods. And if an acrylamide-containing food is otherwise good for you—such as whole-grain breads and whole-grain breakfast cereals—the benefits outweigh the risks. In any case, since acrylamide is so prevalent in the food supply, there’s not much difference between low-intake and high-intake groups in observational studies (perhaps if there were, any potential risks would be easier to detect). On the back of the one-ounce bag of chips, a bold warning reads, “Consuming this product can expose you to chemicals, including acrylamide, which are known to the state of California to cause cancer.” The curious warning label raised some questions. Acrylamide forms from sugars and an amino acid that are naturally in food; it does not come from the food packaging or the environment. Although prunes … Chips, or crisps if you grew up English, contain a chemical called acrylamide. It doesn't matter whether you snack on Pringles, Lay's Classic Potato Chips, or Grandma Utz's Potato Chips – all potato chips can add to your body's acrylamide load. The primary sources of acrylamide in the typical modern diet are boxed cereals, French fries, potato chips, and coffee. According to a review in the Annals of Oncology in 2011, research overall does not suggest an increased risk for cancer, with the possible exception of kidney cancer. In the rest of this article, we compare various types of chips and crisps in terms of their acrylamide content. However, the second lot was found to contain only 433 ppb. What is acrylamide? Advertising Policy But studies on acrylamide and cancer in people have had mixed results, with some showing no increased risk in people with the highest dietary intakes, and others even suggesting reduced risk of colon cancer. Does it really cause cancer? Acrylamide is a chemical that is formed in certain plant-based foods during cooking or processing at high temperatures, such as frying, roasting, grilling, and baking. They are made by deep-frying or baking thin slices of potato until crunchy, and then salted. In fact, because of frequent intake of breakfast cereals, a diet that follows government recommendations for healthy eating can end up having higher levels of acrylamide than an unhealthier diet that includes French fries and chips, according to a 2012 study from the University of California, Davis. Add To Order. Note: The acrylamide values referred to in the article above indicate acrylamide levels in individual purchased food products, and generally do not take into account unit-to-unit or lot-to-lot variation. Remember, too, that most foods naturally contain potential cancer promoters, as well as cancer fighters. About Us In the United States, fried potato products like French fries and potato chips are the greatest source of acrylamide in many peoples’ diets (38%), followed by crackers, cookies, and cakes (17%), bread (14%), snacks such as roasted nuts and popcorn (14%), cereal products (9%), and lastly, coffee (8%). Acrylamide exposure usually happens when people eat foods cooked at high temperatures such as fried potato chips and French fries, drink coffee, or inhale tobacco smoke. Learn all about the health benefits of your favorite healthy foods: The Anticancer Diet: Reduce Cancer Risk Through the Foods You Eat, 7 Health Benefits of Green Tea (and How to Reap Them), Oven Roasting Times for 60 Common Vegetables. Acrylamide in Chips: Potato vs Tortilla (Corn) Chips. Food and cigarette smoke are the major sources of acrylamide exposure for people in the general population ( 3, 4 ). By frying, baking, and toasting only lightly, you can lower the amount of the chemical found in the foods that you eat. Not only do chips – whether made from potatoes or corn – add empty calories and truckloads of salt to your diet, they might also increase your risk of cancer. However, while all chips contain acrylamide, there are significant differences between types of chips, and even between different samples. Acrylamide is also found in cigarette smoke. Acrylamide is a chemical that is formed in certain plant-based foods during cooking or processing at high temperatures, such as frying, roasting, grilling, and baking. None of the tested tortilla chip lots exceeded 200 ppb, while values well over 200 ppb were the norm for potato chips. You would get much more acrylamide from smoking than from food. Terms of Service, © 2021 Remedy Health Media, LLC All rights reserved.