Abstract
Acrylamide is found in a wide range of high-temperature processed and/or cooked foods. Formed mainly from asparagine in Maillard reactions in the presence of a reducing sugar such as fructose and glucose, the compound can be metabolized to glutathione conjugates and is also oxidized to glycidamide, a genotoxic agent which forms DNA adducts. Acrylamide is known to exert genotoxicity, neurotoxicity, and reproductive and developmental toxicity and the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) concluded a health risk from acrylamide in foodstuffs. The major foods contributing to total intake of acrylamide were found to be French fries, potato chips, coffee, pastry and sweet biscuits, and bread and rolls/toasts. The committee concluded based on national estimates that an intake of 1 μg/kg bw per day of acrylamide could be taken to represent the average for the general population. The Committee selected 0.18 mg/kg body weight per day as the most sensitive carcinogenicity estimate from animal study data. The margin of exposure (MOE) for the general population was thus calculated to be ca. 200 times, which is low for a carcinogen and indicates a potential human health concern. The Code of Practice for the Reduction of Acrylamide in Foods was adopted by Codex Alimentarius Commission in 2009 based on scientific analytical data obtained worldwide. Food Drink Europe published “Acrylamide Toolbox” to provide national and local authorities, as well as manufacturers, including small and medium size enterprises, with brief descriptions of intervention steps which may prevent or reduce formation of acrylamide in specific manufacturing processes and products. In Japan, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has published acrylamide mitigation guidelines for manufacturers and consumers. Acrylamide levels in foods are decreasing owing to such mitigation measures, but the MOE is still considered to be less than 1000.
