Contaminants in
Food
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Lecture
files
Topic 1 General issues
and examples 3 per page B&W
Topic 1 General issues
and examples 3 per page color
Topic 2 2-ACBs and acrylamide 3 per page B&W
Topic 2 2-ACBs and acrylamide 3 per page color
Click to go to Food Irradiation Resources
Class assignments
Acrylamide
General
Reading pdf and web pages
General
Turning up the heat *
asparagine
why asparagine *
CSPI concern *
EU Concerns pdf *
Hots spuds: Link to
acrylamide *
European
Issues on Acrylamide
WHO http://www.who.int/fsf/Acrylamide/Acrylamide_index.htm
IFST
Statement Note:
IFST has concluded that, with the current lack of
scientific evidence on such matters as the mechanism of
formation of acrylamide in food, the nature and extent of
uptake from food by humans, and the relationship between
acrylamide in food and cancer in humans, it is not yet
appropriate to issue an Information Statement on
acrylamide in food. Meanwhile instead IFST is providing a
page of Acrylamide Information & News which will
serve to keep readers informed about developments. http://www.ifst.org/acrylmd.htm
This
one has very up to date links
FAO
website
http://www.acrylamide-food.org
FAO update (contains
refernced papers)- pdf
EU
web page
http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/fs/sfp/fcr/acrylamide/acryl_database_en.html
FDA Food Safety Network on acrylamide http://www.jifsan.umd.edu/Acrylamide/acrylamide_workshop.html
Powell Food Safety
Network Statement and References
Swedish
National Food Associaton
Press relaease
methods used
Food levels
toxicology
cancer studies
reccommendations
summary *
web links
FDA
Sites and Briefs
Initial news brief *
Detection and
quantification
levels
in food
JFCA
WHO
releases
press release *
WHO web site
law suits *
It
is no problem
FAO cautions on findings
Doubt about link to food
British cancer journal
ACSH Opinion Joe Rosen
Rutgers
*
ASCH
pdf file
Other
Links
EU database and links
UK Standards agency
UK
-Standards pdf paper
General
FDA background on Food Safety
Down
load Useful Overview of Food Law
FDA
Risk Analysis & Precaution
Univ
Maryland - FDA Risk assessment page
Marler
Clark Law Firm
Food
Irradiation
General
irradiation background
MIT
Technology Review
(also links
to other souces)*
Foundation
for Food Irradiation
(links to
irradiation education sites)
Irradiation
Update 2000 (TPL Power Point pdf file)
Irradiation
Update 2002 PPT file
USDA
Irradiation Information page *
US
Government Collection of wholesomeness studies
(1950s-1960s)
IFST (UK)
Position Paper on Irradiation
FDA
Information Sheet *
On-Line
video on Irradiation
GMA
Irradiation Education page
ADA
Position on Food Irradiation
IOWA State
Linear Acellerator Facility
USDA-FDA
Foodborne illness information center
Anti-Food Irradiation Information
Debates on
Irradiation *
Pro and Con
Sites*
Nuclear
Lunch
Michael
Colby & Nuke-burgers*
Interview
With Michael Colby
Articles
from Food & Water Journal
2-ACBs
in Irradiated Food
Public
Citizen *
US Response
*
EU Study *
EU
Summary(pdf)*
EU
rejection *
EU position
on irradiation at > 10 kGy *
Brazil *
Other
contaminant Issues
fungiside in CocaCola
perfluro-octanoic acid
in Teflon
Other
food safety issues
US Initiative on Food Safety
Food Poisoning Links Web Page
Food Safety Alerts & Recalls
Federal Agencies
Federal Register Notices
USDA Pathogen Policies
US Court Cases
USDA/FDA Links to Resources
Food Disparagement Laws
Food Allergens
Acrylamide
GMO
BSE
Biosecurity
Irradiation
IFST
(UK) Position Papers on Many Topics
Time Temperature Tags
Dietary Supplements
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University of Guelph Food Safety Network Fact
Sheet
Downlaod pdf fife
http://www.eatwelleatsafe.ca/factsheets/acrylamide.pdf
Since the 1950s, acrylamide has been used in the
manufacture of paper and
dyes and in the filtration of drinking water and
wastewater. In April 2002,
Swedish researchers reported acrylamide in fried and
baked starchy foods.
The presence of acrylamide in food was not known
previously. Various
international researchers have since confirmed the
Swedish study.
Acrylamide is formed in food mainly as a result of the
reaction between the
amino acid asparagine (a building block of protein) and
simple sugars.
Research indicates that more acrylamide is formed in food
at the higher
temperatures (greater than 250ºF/ 120ºC) and longer
cooking times used when
frying, deep-frying, broiling, baking and grilling. No
acrylamide has been
found in boiled foods.
Researchers have discovered acrylamide in a wide range of
heated foods. Of
the foods tested by Health Canada, potato chips and
French fries tended to
contain the most acrylamide, while much lower levels were
found in soft
breads and cereals. Significant concentrations of
acrylamide have also been
found in some baby foods, snack foods other than potato
chips, nuts and nut
butters, chocolate products, coffee and various dried
foods.
Should I be concerned about acrylamide in food?
The Food and Drug Administration of the United States,
the World Health
Organization (WHO) and many others have initiated studies
to investigate the
potential risks of acrylamide in food. Health Canada has
carried out
preliminary analyses of foods that may contain acrylamide
and is
investigating the formation of acrylamide in food.
Prior to the discovery of acrylamide in foods, the main
sources of exposure
to acrylamide in the general population were identified
to be through
drinking water and tobacco smoking. On the basis of
animal studies,
acrylamide is considered to be a probable human
carcinogen although
scientists have yet to establish the relevance of these
studies to human
health.
The health consequences of exposure to low levels of
acrylamide found in
foods have not been thoroughly researched. While
acrylamide has been shown
to cause cancer in laboratory animals, studies of humans
exposed to
acrylamide through air and contact with their skin in
industrial settings
found no evidence of cancer. Also, a recent study
conducted in Sweden did
not find a connection between acrylamide in the diet of
Swedish adults and
cancers of the large bowel, bladder or kidney. However,
experts caution that
it is still too early to draw firm conclusions about
cancer risks to humans
from acrylamide present in foods.
The WHO has organized an expert consultation to review
and evaluate existing
research data relevant to establishing the health
consequences of the
presence of acrylamide in foods. Toxicologists at Health
Canada are
presently reviewing the available information on the
toxicity of this
chemical.
What’s being done to reduce acrylamide levels in
food?
Tests have demonstrated that the level of acrylamide can
vary from one food
sample to the next, even in the same product from the
same manufacturer.
Researchers are investigating if asparagine can be
removed from products,
eliminating the reaction that causes acrylamide
formation, or if acrylamide
can be removed from foods after it appears. Food
processors may also be able
to reduce acrylamide levels in their products by choosing
different raw
materials, such as a different variety of potatoes, or by
changing their
processing procedures. Health Canada has advised the
Canadian food industry
about the results of their research on acrylamide
formation in foods, so
that action can be taken to minimize acrylamide levels in
food products.
The WHO advises that food should not be cooked
excessively, i.e. for too
long or at too high a temperature. However, food and
particularly meat and
meat products, should be cooked thoroughly to destroy
foodborne pathogens.
Health Canada recommends that consumers follow a healthy,
balanced diet,
drawing from a variety of foods and consuming them in
moderation.
Information Sources:
Coughlin, J. R. (2003).
Acrylamide: What we have learned so far. Food
Technology 57 (2), 100.
http://www.ift.org/publications/docshop/ft_shop/02-03/02_03_pdfs/02-03-backp
age.pdf
Health Canada. (2003). Acrylamide
and food. Retrieved April 22, 2003, from
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/food-aliment/cs-ipc/chha-edpcs/e_acrylamide_and_food.
html
Mitka, M. (2002). Fear of frying:
Is acrylamide in foods a cancer risk? The
Journal of the American Medical Association, 288 (17),
2105-2106.
Mucci, L. A., Dickman, P. W.,
Steineck, G., Adami, H-O. & Augustsson, K.
(2003). Dietary acrylamide and cancer of the large bowel,
kidney, and
bladder: Absence of an association in a population-based
study in Sweden,
British Journal of Cancer, 88, 84-89.
Tareke, E., Rydberg, P., Karlsson,
P., Eriksson, S., & Törnqvist, M. (2002).
Analysis of acrylamide, a carcinogen formed in heated
foodstuffs. Journal of
Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 50, 4998-5006.
World Health Organization. (2003).
Acrylamide. Retrieved April 22, 2003,
http://www.who.int/fsf/Acrylamide/Acrylamide_index.htm
For more information on acrylamide or other food safety
topics, please call
the Food Safety Network toll-free at 1-866-50-FSNET or
visit our website at
www.foodsafetynetwork.ca
Although we strive to make the information on this fact
sheet helpful and
accurate, we make no representation or warranty, express
or implied,
regarding such information, and disclaim all liability of
any kind
whatsoever arising out of use of, or failure to use, such
information or
errors or omissions on this fact sheet.
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