September 30, 2002 02:37:55 PM PST, Reuters

The US Food and Drug Administration ( news - web sites) (FDA) on Monday set in motion a plan to identify how the chemical acrylamide is getting into food and what can be done to reduce or eliminate it, since it can cause cancer, neurological damage and infertility.
In the first of many meetings, the FDA plans over the next year to conduct research and form a consensus with international scientists on how to eliminate acrylamide, said Lester Crawford, deputy FDA commissioner.

"It's alarming--nobody wants it in the food supply," Crawford said in an interview with Reuters Health. He added that the FDA aims to make final recommendations in conjunction with the World Health Organization ( news - web sites) (WHO) in early 2004.

"We're trying to do it in as few months as we possibly can," said Crawford.

Acrylamide first came to light in April, when the Swedish National Food Administration and Stockholm University reported they had found the chemical in fried and oven-baked foods, especially potato chips and French fries. The Swedes said high-temperature cooking caused acrylamide formation and suggested that the chemical might cause several hundred cases of cancer each year in Sweden alone.

Many initially doubted the findings, but scientists in Norway, the United Kingdom and Switzerland have come up with similar results.

"The Swedes did not go over the top," Crawford said.

Acrylamide's discovery was new, but the chemical has likely been in food for thousands of years, said Bernard Schwetz, FDA's senior science adviser.

Scientists agreed at a June WHO meeting to work together to determine how acrylamide is formed, how to measure it in food, and whether it stays in the body or is metabolized and excreted. The scientists also hope to find out if known non-food acrylamide sources, such as cigarette smoke, are a greater or equal threat compared to food exposure.

Finally, they hope to figure out if any acrylamide consumption is safe. The FDA will be helping in all of these efforts, especially focusing on foods that Americans consume most.

In international studies, potato chips, French fries, baked goods like crackers and pastries, breakfast cereals and coffee powder had the highest acrylamide levels. Lower amounts were found in fried fish and fried chicken, chocolate powder and instant malt drinks.

Preliminary FDA tests of American grocery and restaurant foods also found the highest levels in French fries and potato chips, but the range of acrylamides within food categories and among brands was quite large in some cases, said Dr. Lauren Posnick of the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Nutrition. That gives hope that there may be ways to minimize or eliminate acrylamide, Posnick said.

There are some clues to why acrylamide forms. Recent studies by FDA researchers and several papers in this week's issue of Nature show that when the amino acid asparagine is heated in combination with glucose, acrylamide is more likely to form. Asparagine is found in many plant-based foods.

Low water content and high-temperature cooking also seem to play a role.

But given foods' chemical complexity, "we'll likely find multiple mechanisms involved in the formation of acrylamide," said Schwetz.

Until there are more answers, Americans should strive to eat a balanced diet heavy on fruits and vegetables and limit fried and fatty foods, Crawford said.

The National Food Processors Association said it agreed with FDA that more needs to be learned about acrylamides and commended the agency's plan. But the group added, "we do not believe we are faced with a public health emergency."

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