Goverment watching for acrylamide levels in fried food

By Mike Deibert

OTTAWA—The federal government is monitoring acrylamide in Canadian food after putting the substance on a list of possibly harmful substances, and is considering allowing the addition of a chemical to manufactured food that eliminates acrylamide.

Acrylamide has been found to cause cancer in laboratory rats and was discovered in food by Swedish scientists in 2002.

It has a number of commercial uses, including the production of food packaging.
Humans are exposed to acrylamide when it forms in starchy foods that have been cooked at sufficiently high temperatures, and it has been found in highest concentrations in french fries and potato chips.

Scientists have not been able to determine if the amounts found in food are harmful to humans, and are continuing with research.

Health Canada’s advice has been to eat well according to Canada’s Food Guide, and to reduce consumption of deep-fried foods and snacks such as french fries and potato chips.

However, in August last year, Health Canada placed acrylamide on Schedule 1 of the Canadian Envrionmental Protection act, 1999. This is a list of nearly 200 substances in widespread commercial use that might pose a risk to human health. Ottawa is also urging food producers to find ways to reduce acrylamide content in their products.

Meanwhile it has begun the first phase of monitoring foods that are most likely to expose people to acrylamides: bread, pizza, breaded chicken nuggets, coffee, french fries, breakfast cereals, potato chips, cookies, crackers, baby food, biscuits, snack foods, cocoa, baking chocolate, cakes, pies, peanut butter, olives and prune juice.

One possible action food producers can take is to add a substance called asparaginase to food to get rid of asparagine, the amino acid that is a key ingredient in the formation of acrylamide during cooking. Cooking destroys asparaginase, so it is not believed to have any effect on people eating food to which it has been added.

Health Canada says it has been permitted in food in the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Denmark, and has been given a favourable evaluation by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA). Food and Consumer Products of Canada, supports the use of Asparaginase in food production.

Health Canada, which favours putting asparaginase in food, is now considering public opinion and could make a decision this year on whether to allow manufacturers to add the substance to their products.

Two companies, DSM and Novozymes have launched Asparaginase enzymes after obtaining licensing rights to applications from Frito Lay and Proctor and Gamble.
Acrylamide has been the subject of at least one lawsuit in North America.

In 2008, the state of California reached a settlement in a suit it had launched against four food companies: potato chip makers Frito-Lay and Kettle Foods Inc., as well as H. J. Heinz Co. which makes Ore-Ida frozen fries and Tater Tots, and Lance Inc., which sells Cape Cod Potato Chips.

The companies agreed to pay a total of $2 million in fines and to lower the acrylamide content in their products.

The lawsuit originally included McDonald’s, Wendy’s and Burger King, but the restaurant chains settled at an earlier date, agreeing to reduce acrylamide content in their foods or correctly label them.

The lawsuit alleged that the companies violated a strict California law that requires warning labels on products that contain carcinogens.