Last Updated: 2003-03-10 11:00:24 -0400 (Reuters Health)

LONDON (Reuters Health) - European Union authorities hope that a new online database of research about acrylamide in food will help clarify the health risks of the chemical.

Swedish researchers prompted a worldwide scare last year when they found acrylamide in carbohydrate-rich foods cooked at high temperatures, such as french fries and crispbreads. The chemical can cause cancer in laboratory animals, but the actual danger to humans posed by the levels in food is not clear.

"We must look closely at the issue of acrylamide in food to evaluate the potential threat to public health and determine which actions might need to be taken," said EU Health Commissioner David Byrne. "It is important that all researchers have a global picture of what efforts are undertaken. This database will help provide this picture."

The database compiles research efforts in the EU on several topics related to the issue of acrylamide in food. It includes information on levels actually seen in food, dietary exposure to acrylamide, ways to reduce levels in food, how the chemical is formed during cooking and data on its cancer-causing potential.

The database can be accessed at:

http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/fs/s...atabase_en.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

source: http://www.reutershealth.com/archiv...310elin028.html