Acrylamide is a
chemical which has been shown to be present in
food as a result of cooking practices, some of
which have been used for many years, even
centuries. Therefore finding ways to reduce the
levels is not straight-forward. In particular,
starchy foods have been shown to be affected,
such as potato and cereal products which have
been deep-fried, roasted or baked at high
temperatures. The possible risk to public
health is unclear.
To help identify what can be done to reduce levels of acrylamide in food, to better understand the chemical effects of processing and cooking and to help clarify the possible risk to public health, the Commission is co-ordinating several initiatives in the EU.
On 3 May 2007 the Commission adopted a Recommendation on the monitoring of acrylamide levels in food.
A summary of research
activities within the EU (
Acrylamide
Information Base) has been prepared by the
Commission in close collaboration with the
European Food Safety Authority (
EFSA)
(last updated April 2005). The Commission’s
Joint Research Centre is co-ordinating work on
analytical methods and is collecting data on
the levels detected in different foods. For
long-term research needs, the Commission has
set-up a wide-scale project in its
6th
Framework Programme for Research and
Technological Development. The project, coded ‘
Heatox’,
includes investigations into health risks from
chemicals which can be formed in heat-treated
foods and food products, such as acrylamide. It
includes 23 participant organisations in 14
different countries.
The
Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee
on Food Additives (JECFA) met on 9 - 17
February 2005 to consider, amongst other
issues, the risks posed by acrylamide in food.
In the report from the meeting, there is no
clear conclusion on the risk posed by
acrylamide in food and it calls for more data.
However, it is highlighted that dietary intake
of acrylamide from some foods may be a concern
for human health. Comparison of dietary intake
with levels of acrylamide found to have
toxicological effects in laboratory studies
gave rise to concern, in particular for
consumers who eat a lot of the relevant foods.
EFSA has endorsed the
conclusions. Ongoing studies are expected to
provide more information to help clarify the
actual risk. In the meantime, efforts to lower
the levels of acrylamide formed in food should
be continued, for example taking into account
progress highlighted at the Commission's
meeting of stakeholders on
14 January 2005 and in the joint CIAA/DG Health and Consumer Protection workshop that took place on 16.-17. March 2006.
On 20-21 October
2003, the Commission held a workshop meeting
with representatives of the EU Member States,
representatives of different sectors of the
food and catering industries and
representatives of consumers. The Note from the
meeting highlights
ways
to lower the levels of acrylamide formed
in food and indicates
a number of provisional recommendations for
producers, processors, retailers, caterers and
consumers. Certain approaches can already be
used to help to reduce the formation of
acrylamide in food, during commercial
production, processing and preparation as well
as during preparation in the home. The food
industry (
CIAA),
in close co-operation with the national authorities and the European Commission,
has developed a
'toolbox'
to highlight ways to
lower levels of acrylamide in food. Updated 17-02-2009
Short extracts of the toolbox have been developed in form of sector specific brochures. These brochures are designed to help food business
operators to implement those items of the "toolbox" that are relevant for their sector. These brochures are available in 22 Community languages.
After the presence of
acrylamide in food was highlighted by the
Swedish Authorities in April 2002, the
Commission urgently consulted its Scientific
Committee on Food (SCF) to assess the possible
risk to public health. The SCF reported its
opinion
on acrylamide on 3 July 2002. It concluded
that levels should be reduced to levels as low
as reasonably achievable, although more data
were needed in several areas to help towards
reducing levels and to help clarify the safety
implications.
Acrylamide in food is
a world-wide issue and the European Commission
together with the European Food Safety
Authority are actively participating in
international initiatives. In particular, the
EU
Acrylamide
Information Base has been made available
for inclusion in the World Health Organisation’s
International Network on Acrylamide (
Acrylamide
Infonet), which is being co-ordinated by
the US Joint Institute for Food Safety &
Applied Nutrition (
JIFSAN).
The Infonet helps promote awareness of research
progress being made on acrylamide world-wide
and helps to encourage international
collaboration on this issue.
