What's Acrylamide ?

I came across a headline today "Heart study may raise pressure to cut acrylamide levels in snacks".
Cut what from snacks ?? Acrylamide.




Some facts about Acyrlamide

• Acrylamide is not added to foods. It is a chemical that can form in some foods (particularly carbohydrate-rich foods) during high-temperature cooking processes, such as frying/baking/toasting. It forms from sugars and an amino acid (asparagine) that are naturally present in food.
  
• Acrylamide was first detected in foods in 2002 by Swedish researchers who reported a high content in potato chips, breakfast cereals and crisp bread. High levels are found in French fries. For information on acrylamide levels in foods refer to the following page: http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/acrydat2.html#table4 .
• In animal studies, high exposure to acrylamide caused cancer. BUT as of yet, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and other government agencies, have not yet determined the exact public health impact, if any, of acrylamide that are found in the much lower levels in foods. Research is ongoing in this area.

I will be interested to see if potato chips now get a bad rap in popular consumer magazines because of acrylamide. Keep in mind the potato chip was first created in 1853, by a Native American named George Crum http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/potatochips.htm. It contained acrylamide then, just as it does now !

The bottom-line: There is insufficient evidence to suggest its harmful at the levels we consume in foods, but perhaps its another reason not to reach for the French fries and potato chips !