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Sci Tech
Linking cooking and carcinogens
FRENCH FRIES and potato chips may be doing more than just clogging our arteries. The study of acrylamide levels in foods suggests the suspected carcinogen forms in dangerous levels during cooking of potatoes. The findings are reported in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
According to the study fried, oven-baked and deep-fried potato and cereal products contain high levels of acrylamide. Protein-rich foods, such as beef and chicken, produce moderate levels of acrylamide when heated. But carbohydrate-rich foods, , have high levels, with potato chips and French fries at the top of the list.
Any food item, containing potato, produced significant acrylamide upon heating in microwaves or conventional ovens. The study also found that more acrylamide forms as food is heated to higher temperatures.
But researchers are hesitant to promote mild cooking because it has its own set of dangers — like food-borne diseases like Salmonella.
The study, still supports that consumers should avoid overcooking, especially with potatoes.
Scientists first thought the main exposure to acrylamide was through tobacco smoke; early studies suggested it formed during incomplete combustion of organic matter.
When researchers found unusually high levels of acrylamide in Swedish subjects who were non-smokers and not exposed to other typical sources, the Stockholm group formed their heated-food hypothesis.
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