Is acrylamide a health hazard in foods? The debate continues this week with scientists associated with the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH) stating that they have found no compelling evidence that acrylamide, when consumed in foods such as French fries and bread, poses a risk of human cancer.
The ACSH review and analysis, written by Dr Joseph D. Rosen of Rutgers University, is consistent with recent findings from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) which reported the presence of acrylamide in various common foods. However, the FDA findings, according to the new ACSH report, are not directly relevant to human health.
Acrylamide is a chemical that may be formed when foods high in carbohydrates (sugars and starches) are fried or baked. ACSH responded to a recent report from the FDA detailing the levels of acrylamide in specific foods.
"We are deeply concerned that Americans will worry unnecessarily about safe, nutritious foods," said Dr Elizabeth M. Whelan, president of ACSH.
"The claim that acrylamide, found in common foods such as potatoes and bread after cooking, poses a human cancer risk is based exclusively on high dose studies in laboratory animals.
There is no evidence whatsoever that humans who consume the observed levels of acrylamide increase their risk of any type of cancer," said Dr Whelan."The FDA information on levels of acrylamides in foods does nothing to facilitate the prediction of human health risks," she added.
"If one concludes that acrylamide levels are 'high,' a follow-up question would be 'high compared to what?' Our diet is replete with naturally occurring chemicals that, when fed in very high doses, cause cancer in laboratory rodents.
"Even a 'high' level of acrylamide is insignificant compared to the cumulative exposure we have to a myriad of naturally occuring chemicals that, like acrylamide, can be categorised as 'rodent carcinogens' on the basis of laboratory tests."
ACSH nutrition director Dr Ruth Kava added: "Simply saying that levels of one chemical in food are higher than others does not predict any potential risk to health. One must also know how much is typically consumed and the relative toxicity, if any, of the various chemicals for humans."
"Over the past 30 years, scientists have become far more sophisticated in interpreting the findings of high dose animal ingestion studies," Dr Whelan added. "Indeed, the more we test naturally occurring chemicals present in food, the more we note that they, too, can increase cancer risk in the laboratory-but we have no reason to believe they play a role in the causation of human cancer."
"Food is a highly emotional subject," said Dr Whelan, "and the sometimes-exaggerated news reports only prove that a rumour about food safety can be halfway around the world before the truth gets its boots on."
The ACSH position is a pragmatic approach to an increasingly heated debate. But does it answer all the questions? It is clear that research must still continue across the world in order to establish a unanimous agreement that acrylamide does not pose a danger to human health.
