Heating high-carb foods can produce acrylamide

We love our french fries. We're crazy about potato chips, fried chicken and donuts. But researchers in the United States, Canada and Europe have a new reason for raising a big red flag about the safety of these foods beyond the hazards cholesterol and fat can cause.

Scientists have discovered a chemical in high-carb foods called acrylamide - a possible human carcinogen.

Most people have never heard of acrylamide even though it's in about 40 percent of our food. It's a natural byproduct of cooking high-carbohydrate foods at high temperatures. In addition to French fries and potato chips, it has shown up in roasted and baked foods including breakfast cereal, baby food, bread and crackers.

Acrylamide is not an additive. It doesn't leach into food through packaging. It is produced by a chemical reaction that sometimes happens in cooking.

It forms when sugars and amino acids called asparagines are heated together at temperatures upward of 248 degrees Fahrenheit (boiling is 212 degrees). The effect enhances a food's flavor color, aroma and texture.

But research from a plethora of studies show that when acrylamide is consumed in large doses by lab rats it causes tumors and neurological problems.

Even though the deadly effects have been limited to the lab, the evidence of the potential hazard to humans is strong enough to cause federal agencies here, in Canada and in Europe to ratchet up efforts to reduce the amount of the chemical in our food supply.

Acrylamide used to be known as a synthetic substance found in plastics, grouts and cigarette smoke. Concern about it was limited to those who handled it as an industrial substance.

In 2002, scientists at the Swedish Food Administration found it in surprisingly high levels in high-carb foods and were the first to link it to cancer in lab rats. The information sent researchers around the world to their labs to find out more.

The FDA is among the institutions and agencies doing research on acrylamide at their lab at The National Center for Toxicological Research.

The word from FDA officials is that the agency may soon be issuing guidelines on how to reduce the chemical's level in food.

Acrylamide is measured in parts per billion (ppb). The amount present in a food can vary greatly depending on the manufacturer, the raw materials, the process and the cooking time. The tests were performed on several batches of food to come up with a range.

For instance, when FDA researchers tested seven batches of McDonald's French fries they found levels that went from 197 ppb to 497 ppb.

In one batch of Krispy Kream donuts tested the ppb level was zero. But a different batch had 22 ppb.

Scientists in the food industry have been working on ways to reduce the amount of acrylamide by reducing the levels of sugar and the amino acid asparagine.

They've also found an enzyme called asparaginase that consumes the asparagines so less of the harmful chemical is produced.

According to a pilot study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, there is concern that eating too many foods high in acrylamide can put people at risk for heart attacks. But beyond that, no link has yet been found to cancer in humans.