New research supports the link between cooking and c...( French fries and potato chips may be do...)

The findings are reported in the August 14 print issue of Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society. They were the basis for widely publicized announcements by the Swedish National Food Administration and other European food administrations this spring.

The study reports that fried, oven-baked and deep-fried potato and cereal products contain high levels of acrylamide. Researchers at Stockholm University summarized evidence of acrylamide's presence in foods and performed a detailed analysis of acrylamide during heating.

Protein-rich foods, such as beef and chicken, produced only moderate levels of acrylamide when heated. Carbohydrate-rich foods, however, had high levels, with potato chips and French fries at the top of the list. Any item containing potato produced significant acrylamide upon heating in microwaves or conventional ovens. The study also found that more acrylamide forms as food is heated to higher temperatures.

"I would say that boiling at 100 degrees Celsius is the only safe cooking method," said Margareta Trnqvist, Ph.D., lead author of the paper. In potato-based foods, even cooking at a moderate temperature of 120 degrees Celsius began the process of acrylamide formation.

But Trnqvist is hesitant to promote mild cooking because it carries its own set of dangers -- namely food-borne diseases like Salmonella. Still, she said, the data support the conclusion that consumers should avoid overcooking, especially with potatoes. "It should also be noted that we have so far only studied carbohydrate-rich staple foods in the Western society," she said, "and we have n
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Contact: Tiffany McAvoy
t_mcavoy@acs.org
202-872-6042
American Chemical Society
25-Jul-2002