ACRYLAMIDE THREAT IN COMESTIBLES

Acrylamide is a naturally occurring substance during food cooking, for this reason there is no possibility of forbidding this type of food. Legal limitations for maximum acrylamid levels in comestibles can be decided after determination of related health risks. There is no possibility of having a certain opinion on a potential health risk for acrylamide since there is not enough scientific data. For that reason, until these studies are completed, World Health Organisation (WHO), advices not to cook the comestibles at high temperatures and for long time and to consume oily and fried foods in minimal amounts according to the healthy nutrition principles. On the other hand, studies in order to decrease the acrylamide amount or to prevent acrylamide formation in comestibles are being done extensively all over the world. Shortly, mentioned threat is not unique to Turkey, it is a world wide problem.
Acrylamide in comestibles was first emphasized in April 2002, when the Swedish scientists declared that comestibles which contain starch and processed with heat may contain important levels of acrylamide and after that numerous studies were started to determine the health problems that may source from acrylamide by the world scientists.

In the last years experiments that were performed on mice by various research foundations have demonstrated that acrylamide induces malignity formation in test animals. It is known that unfavourable effect of acrylamide taken with food in humans is 500-1000 times smaller but there is not certain data on possible health problems which may happen because of acrylamide consumption at these levels for long periods. Here, besides the acrylamide content in the food, nutrition style and food consumption habits of people play major roles.
International Agency for Research into Cancer has classified acrylamide as a "potential carcinogen for human" . Acrylamide is not a preservative added to comestibles, it is a substance that occurs as a result of high temperature reactions of carbon hydrate and proteins which are natural components of various comestibles. For that reason, among heat processed protein rich products, bakery products and fried food are attracting attention as research subjects. Studies performed in Europe demonstrated that especially coffee, potatoe products and bread are the most important sources of food derived acrylamide regarding their high daily consumption amounts.

 

Last Updated: 07.08.2009