FDA scrutinizes fried, baked foods

WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration yesterday reported it had found high levels of the potentially cancer-causing substance acrylamide in a wide range of fried and baked products, particularly french fries, potato chips and crackers.

The high levels discovered represent the first detailed American confirmation of earlier surprise findings from Europe, and have led to a broad FDA effort to determine whether acrylamide poses a cancer risk that requires changes in how foods are cooked and eaten.

So far, officials say, they have not found acrylamide risks great enough to recommend that consumers avoid any groups of food or specific products. It remains uncertain whether people consume enough acrylamide in their food for it to be harmful and whether the substance — which causes cancer in laboratory animals at high doses — is similarly hazardous to people, they said.

But Terry Troxell of the FDA's Center for Food Center and Applied Nutrition said yesterday, at a two-day advisory committee meeting on acrylamide, that the agency agreed with the World Health Organization's conclusion that the discovery of acrylamide in many foods is a "major concern" and needs to be researched.

The new FDA findings are included in a report on 300 products the agency has tested for the chemical since Swedish researchers announced their discovery of acrylamide in many foods seven months ago. The FDA list showed predictably high acrylamide levels in most potato chips and french fries, but also significant levels in some breads, cocoas, almonds, coffees and crackers.

In almost all categories, however, the acrylamide levels varied widely. Popeye's french fries, for instance, had significantly higher levels than Burger King fries. The FDA also found great variations in acrylamide levels between bags of the same Lay's potato chips, even those produced on the same lines of the same factories.

The big variability suggests acrylamide levels can be lowered in foods, FDA scientists told the advisory board.

Scientists in FDA chemist Steven Musser's laboratory bought frozen french fries that, before baking, contained almost no acrylamide. Baking them for 10 to 15 minutes as the package directs caused a very slight acrylamide increase — but none of the six scientists considered the fries done enough to be appetizing, so they put them back in the oven.

After 30 minutes of baking, the fries were golden brown — and contained 120 times as much acrylamide. After 45 minutes, the now extra-crispy fries contained 400 times as much acrylamide as a mere 15-minute baking produced.

It's not just an issue for french fries. Even toasting bread increased acrylamide levels six- to 10-fold, the FDA testing showed.

In contrast, microwaving frozen french fries produced no acrylamide, Musser said. Likewise, other scientists say the chemical doesn't appear to form when foods are boiled. Nobody knows why, but perhaps those cooking methods aren't hot enough to produce the chemical reaction thought necessary to form acrylamide.

Yesterday's meeting was not called to assess the risks posed by acrylamide, but rather to review the agency's overall action plan for acrylamide research. FDA officials said their recommendations will come later, after more information is collected. They plan to test another 300 foods and want acrylamide to be deemed a "priority" issue for the agency next year.

Troxell and other speakers said researchers don't know whether acrylamide has any biological effect on people who consume it. But they said that because it is a suspected carcinogen — the WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer has determined that it is "probably carcinogenic to humans" — its presence must be treated seriously, especially since it is sometimes found at high levels.

Scientists know acrylamide apparently forms when a naturally occurring amino acid called asparagine is heated with certain sugars such as glucose.

Potatoes are especially rich in both asparagine and glucose, although foods from grains to even asparagus also contain it. Indeed, roasting asparagus produced very high acrylamide levels.

In contrast, the FDA tested hundreds of food samples and found products from infant formulas and baby food to frozen vegetables and meats acrylamide-free — foods that either contain little asparagine or aren't cooked at super-high temperatures. When Swedish officials announced their results, they also reported that acrylamide in food may be responsible for the deaths of several hundred Swedes annually.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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