EFSA organises consultation to discuss effects of acrylamide in food

Scientists from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) have met to discuss acrylamide in food, a contaminant that forms in starchy foods as a result of high-temperature processing, including cooking.

The aim of the meeting was to focus on EFSA’s recent draft description of the potential health risks of acrylamide in food and estimation of human exposure to acrylamide in the diet, and to listen to the widest possible range of scientific views and information before finalising their opinion of acrylamide in food, in the first half of 2015.

According to EFSA’s draft opinion of 2014, the authority concluded that acrylamide in food led to an increase in the risk of developing cancer for consumers in all age groups.

Chair of EFSA’s panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM) Diane Benford said: "Today’s meeting has been useful for us to listen, discuss, explain and better understand the public consultation results. This will certainly help us to refine our risk assessment and provide clear scientific advice for risk managers to use in developing regulatory or other measures.

"We may look to better explain our assessment of the possible health effects especially in relation to studies involving humans. Further clarification of our dietary exposure estimation and the breakdown and reporting of food categories could also be helpful."

The consultation was held in Brussels where a representative of the European Commission also gave a presentation on the background to the request sent to EFSA and the next steps for EU risk managers once EFSA’s opinion is finalised in 2015.

The commission along with risk managers in member states, will discuss further measures at EU level to reduce acrylamide levels in food as low as reasonably achievable.

Acrylamide in food is produced by the same chemical reaction that makes food brown. Some important dietary sources of acrylamide are coffee, fried potato products, biscuits, crackers and crisp breads, soft bread and certain baby foods (mainly rusks and biscuits).

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Image: Coffee, fried potato products, biscuits, crackers, crisp breads and soft bread are important dietary sources of acrylamide. Photo: courtesy of Keerati.