The FDA says 2,500 foods contain the carcinogen acrylamide…

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released a list of 2,500 foods containing the carcinogen acrylamide—and the food industry is not happy about it.

Acrylamide results when starchy foods are roasted, baked, toasted, or fried. The top three offenders, according to the FDA, are restaurant French fries, oven-baked fries, and potato chips.

Although the dangers of acrylamide aren't fully understood, the public is keenly aware of carcinogens and avoids buying products which contain them. Food manufacturers fear a sharp public backlash to the list of 2,500 products, and are opposed to its publication.

But baked fries sound so much healthier, right? Lamb Weston Inland Valley's unbaked fries initially contained 200 ppb (parts per billion) of acrylamide—but the count soared to 1,325 ppb after cooking. Another high scorer: grain-based hot beverages like Postum.

The state of California requires food manufacturers to label foods that contain cancer-causing substances, and manufacturers object to acrylamide being included under this requirement, since they say its effects are not fully understood. But the FDA list is http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/acrydata.html available online and clearly identifies products by name brand, type of product and total acrylamide content.

Read the full story:
http://www.foodproductiondaily-usa.com/news/ng.asp?n=69718-acrylamide-fda-proposition

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