New Challenge For The Food Industry: Reducing Acrylamide Levels In Baked, Fried Products

Acrylamide – an odorless, tasteless, invisible carcinogenic nerve poison – forms naturally in carbohydrate-rich, starchy foods when they're fried, baked, grilled, toasted or roasted at high temperatures. Now an international study of 1,100 pregnant women has demonstrated a link between the obscure chemical and the risk of bearing babies with lower birth weights and smaller head circumferences. These outcomes in turn have been associated with health problems such as delayed development of the brain and nervous system, type 2 diabetes and heart disease. The researchers advised pregnant women to eat fewer potato chips and French fries and more fruits and vegetables. “The food industry must also explore effective ways of reducing acrylamide levels in its products,” they warned.