Acrylamide in food

Our food should be safe to eat and contaminants should be eliminated as much as possible by the industry and where needed, with strong regulations. The presence of acrylamide, a carcinogenic and genotoxic compound, is of concern because it is prevalent in everyday foods such as bread, coffee, potato fries, biscuits and baby foods. Since its discovery in food in 2002, extensive research has been conducted to better understand the process of acrylamide formation and identify methods to prevent this. In this context, the food industry first published a toolkit identifying preventative measures in 2006 and argued for voluntary programmes. However, the results of regular food sampling conducted by Member States since 2007 show disappointingly that food business operators are failing to apply such measures voluntarily with acrylamide levels in food failing to be reduced across major food groups. In addition, recent studies from the European Food Safety Authority and French Food Safety Authority (ANSES) have stressed health concerns about acrylamide exposure, particularly for babies and young children. Changing Markets is working with our partners to ensure that robust legislation and clear standards are put in place at European level to ensure consumers are protected from acrylamide exposure.