WHO says acrylamide levels in foods should be cut

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The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday that people should consume less acrylamide, a chemical associated with fried foods that has caused cancer in rats, because of a potential threat to health.

It called on governments to urge their food industries to “lower significantly” the acrylamide content in foods such as French fries, potato crisps, coffee and cereal products including bread.

Studies by Swedish scientists in 2002 first drew attention to potential risks posed by acrylamide, which can be formed at high temperatures during frying, roasting or baking.

But the U.N. health agency called at the time for more research after other studies suggested people did not consume enough of the chemical in their daily diet for it to pose a significant risk.

Following the latest meeting of a joint committee of experts set up by the WHO and the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization, the WHO said there might be cause for concern, even though it could be several more years before the situation is fully clear.

“Consumption of foods with this contaminant at current levels of occurrence may be a public health concern,” it said in a statement posted on its Web site.

“This conclusion was based on a conservative evaluation, according to the committee, which noted that there is still considerable uncertainty about the mechanism of the toxicity of acrylamide.”

Acrylamide is formed when certain foods, particularly plant-based foods that are rich in carbohydrates and low in protein, are cooked at high temperatures.

But because amounts can vary dramatically in the same foods, depending on factors such as cooking temperature and time, it was impossible to issue recommendations about how much of a specific food it was safe to eat, the WHO said. 

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