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Acrylamide levels in food

Acrylamide is a chemical that can form in certain foods during cooking. There has been concern raised that the presence of acrylamide in food may be a human health issue. Research is continuing to establish the precise level of risk.

The issues with acrylamide in food

Concerns about the levels of acrylamide in food first arose in 2002 following an announcement by the Swedish National Food Administration that acrylamide could be found in foods containing starch that were cooked at high temperatures. The finding has been confirmed by work in Norway, Switzerland, the UK and USA. In March 2005, the International Food Safety Authorities Network (INFOSAN) released updated information and advice.

Because acrylamide is formed as part of the cooking process it can never be completely eliminated and has always been in certain foods for as long as humans have been cooking.

About acrylamide

Acrylamides are a family of chemicals known to cause damage to the nervous system in animals and humans, when exposed to very high levels. Acrylamides are also potential human carcinogens.

Acrylamide is more commonly known as an industrial chemical. There is a considerable amount of information available on the potential consequences of exposure at the high levels encountered in the industrial environment. It can be found at low levels in plastics (polyacrylamide) and other materials in which it is used as part of the manufacturing process. It is also present in tobacco smoke.

How acrylamide gets into food

Acrylamide appears to be produced naturally, by common high temperature cooking practices such as frying, roasting or baking. It’s usually produced in plant-based foods rich in carbohydrates and low in protein. The levels in the food vary depending on the food type, cooking temperature and time.

The major foods containing acrylamide have been found to be french fries and potato chips, coffee, pastries, sweet biscuits, breads, rolls and toasts.

How eating these foods may impact your health

At estimated average intakes, nervous system damage, reproductive and developmental problems are very unlikely.

A February 2005 meeting of the Food & Agriculture Organisation / World Health Organization Joint Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) noted that what it calls ‘Margins of Exposure’ for acrylamide in food may indicate a human health concern. However, it also noted that there is still considerable uncertainty in determining the precise risk level for human health. These uncertainties result to a large degree from:

• insufficient knowledge of the mechanisms of action of acrylamide within the body

• the broad assumptions used to compare the most relevant animal data to the human situation

• the geographically limited data used for intake assessments.

JECFA recommended that continuing research be evaluated when results from further studies become available.

Other research findings

A report about acrylamides was commissioned by the National Toxicology Program of the United States National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in June 2004. The report stated that acrylamides pose little threat to the U.S. population because people do not eat enough of the chemicals in their daily diet to risk the genetic damage that can lead to cancer.

"Considering the low level of estimated human exposure to acrylamide derived from a variety of sources, the Expert Panel expressed negligible concern for adverse reproductive and developmental effects for exposures in the general population."

Research is continuing into the health effects of acrylamide as well into ways of reducing levels in food.

What we are doing about this issue

The World Health Organization (WHO) is continuing to seek data from countries including New Zealand about the levels of acrylamide in local foods.

In March 2006 we reported on a range of foods commonly consumed in the New Zealand diet that contain acrylamide. Foods tested include, potato crisps, beer, tea, coffee, kumara and pizza. Potato crisps and potato chips contributed up to 40% of the acrylamide from food. Our total dietary intakes of acrylamide were between 0.9 to 2.4 µg/kg bw per day. These intakes are similar to estimated intakes internationally, which ranged from 0.3 to 2.0 µg/kg bw per day.

Adults consumed approximately 1µg/kg bw per day of acrylamide but intakes were higher for younger children reflecting both the relatively large amount of food per unit of body weight consumed by this age group and their food preferences.

We have joined with other national and international food safety agencies in encouraging relevant food industries to work towards improving food preparation technologies that significantly lower the acrylamide content in critical foods, particularly french fries and potato chips, coffee, pastries, sweet biscuits, breads, rolls and toasts.

How can I reduce levels of acrylamide in my food?

You should continue to eat a balanced and varied diet, which includes plenty of fruit and vegetables, and to moderate your consumption of fried and fatty foods, whether cooked at home or bought.

Ways of reducing acrylamides and other potentially toxic natural by-products of the cooking process include avoiding contact of foods with flames and cooking with the heat source above or on the side rather than below the food. However, you should take care to heat foods right through to a temperature high enough (74 degrees Celsius) to kill bacteria that could cause foodborne illness.

Updated March 2009

Further information on this topic is available at:

Acrylamide in food – frequently asked questions [World Health Organization]

Acrylamide Infonet – monitoring research and data on acrylamide [Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (JIFSAN)]

Acrylamide in food [Food Standards Australia New Zealand]