Acrylamide and Cancer

In this Article (Index)

• What is Acrylamide?
• Does acrylamide cause cancer?
• Are dietary acrylamides safe?
• Regulation and mitigation of Acrylamide in foods
• Can acrylamide be avoided?

What is Acrylamide?

Arcylamide (C₃H₅NO) is a low-weight organic chemical compound that is highly soluble in water.

Acrylamide is produced on an industrial scale for use in many industries, from pulp and paper to foundry, oil drilling, textiles and plastics.

It can be found in small quantities in food-contact items such as packaging.

In 2002, acrylamide was discovered in foods, and studies showed that arcylamide also forms in a natural manner when certain types of starchy foods are cooked.

During cooking, reducing sugars like fructose and glucose combine with an aminoacid called asparagine at temperatures above 248°F (120°C) to form acrylamide. It is formed in foods that are rich in carbohydrates that are fried, toasted or baked like cereals, potatoes and coffee beans (2).

Does acrylamide cause cancer?

There are differing points of view regarding the cancer risk associated with acrylamide (1):

• In 1994, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified acrylamide as a "probable human carcinogen." (3)
• The US National Toxicology Program (NTP) (4) reports that:
  "Dietary exposure to acrylamide has not been associated with an increased risk of colorectal, bladder, esophageal, prostate, oropharyngeal, laryngeal, pancreatic, gastric, or lung cancer.
  Data regarding the effect of dietary acrylamide on the risk of breast, renal, ovarian, and endometrial cancer are inconsistent.
  Subsequent to these reviews, additional epidemiological studies have appeared that examined the relationship between dietary acrylamide and brain, breast, endometrial, head and neck, ovarian, prostate, and thyroid cancer. All were negative, with the exception of ovarian cancer, which was positive , and endometrial cancer, for which both positive and negative results were reported."
• The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has indicated that "Human data are inadequate on acrylamide and cancer risk. In rats orally exposed to acrylamide, significantly increased incidences of tumors at multiple sites have been observed. EPA has classified acrylamide as a Group B2, probable human carcinogen." (5)
• The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) states that "Acrylamide has been shown to cause cancer in animals exposed to very high doses, and although there is no consistent epidemiological evidence on the effect of acrylamide from food consumption on cancer in humans, both the U.S. National Toxicology Program and the Joint Food and Agriculture Organization/World Health Organization Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) consider acrylamide to be a human health concern." (6)

Are dietary acrylamides safe?

Cancer Research UK, (7) is terminant and states that "eating foods high in acrylamide, like toast, charred root vegetables or roast potatoes will not increase your risk of cancer... Your overall diet (what you eat day to day) is more important than individual foods for reducing your cancer risk."

This is a very reasonable position because consuming a diverse and balanced diet promotes good health. Eating plants, vegetables and unprocessed foods with natural antioxidants and bioactive compounds are a great way to counteract the harmful effects of a bad diet.

Furthermore, home-cooked food contain far less acrylamides than processed-foods manufactured using industrial processes.

Regulation and mitigation of Acrylamide in foods

Despite the minimal risk of cancer, based on animal studies, the European Union (EU) considers that acrylamide found in food can potentially increase the risk of cancer in humans and issued a directive that defined measures to reduce the amount of acrylamide in food and set some benchmark levels for it (2).

The EU directive mentions the following products:

• French fries, potato chips, crackers, snacks and crisps.
• Bread, bakery products (biscuits, scons, wafers, crackers, cereal bars) and breakfast cereals (excluding porridge).
• Roast cofee, instant coffee, and coffee substitutes.
• Baby food and, processed cereal-based food for infants.

The regulation also sets a benchmark level for acylamide in foods, expressed in μg ⁄ kg. For French fries it is 500; for Wheat based bread: 50; for bran, puffed grain and whole grain cereals: 300; roast coffee: 400; instant coffee: 850, baby foods: 40.