NUCCA News - Can french fries, potato chips give you cancer?

December 5, 2002 Sun Times

BY LAURAN NEERGAARD

ADELPHI, Md.--The longer french fries and certain other starchy foods are fried or baked, the higher their level of a possible cancer-causing substance, new federal research suggests.

The substance, called acrylamide, made headlines last spring when Swedish scientists discovered that it forms in fries, potato chips and other high-carbohydrate foods cooked at high temperatures.

Several other European countries confirmed Sweden's discovery --and now the latest batch of tests, revealed Wednesday by the Food and Drug Administration, shows that acrylamide levels vary widely even within the same brand of food.

FDA scientists bought french fries at four Popeye's restaurants and found a three-fold difference between the batches with the highest and lowest acrylamide levels. In tests of 25 seemingly identical bags of Lay's Classic Potato Chips, only two bags contained the exact same acrylamide level.

Acrylamide forms during cooking--whether you buy a ready-made food or fry or bake from raw ingredients at home--and it seems that the longer certain foods are cooked at especially high temperatures, the more acrylamide appears.

What does this mean for consumers?

Acrylamide causes cancer in test animals, but has never been proved to do so in people--meaning no one knows if higher levels in one food than another is a problem. FDA scientists stressed Wednesday that there's no reason for Americans to start avoiding certain foods for fear of acrylamide.

Instead, concentrate on eating ''a variety of foods that are rich in high-fiber grains and fruits and vegetables,'' said FDA food safety chief Janice Oliver.

The big variability among foods suggests acrylamide levels can be lowered, FDA scientists told a meeting of the agency's food advisory board. Scientists in FDA chemist Steven Musser's lab bought frozen french fries that, before baking, contained almost no acrylamide. Baking them for 10 to 15 minutes as the package directs caused a very slight acrylamide increase--but no one considered the fries done enough to eat, so they stuck them back in the oven. After 30 minutes of baking, the fries were golden brown--and contained 120 times as much acrylamide.

Microwaving frozen french fries produced no acrylamide, Musser said. Likewise, other scientists say the chemical doesn't appear to form when foods are boiled.