Cancer Risk Found in French Fries, Bread
Wed Apr 24,10:26 AM ET

By Peter Starck

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Basic foods eaten by millions around the world
such as bread, biscuits, potato chips and french fries contain
alarmingly high quantities of acrylamide, a substance believed to cause
cancer, Swedish scientists said on Wednesday.



The research carried out at Stockholm University in cooperation with
experts at Sweden's National Food Administration, a government food
safety agency, showed that heating of carbohydrate-rich foods, such as
potatoes, rice or cereals formed acrylamide, a much studied substance
classified as a probable human carcinogen.

The research was deemed so important that the scientists decided on the
unusual step of going public with their findings before the research had
been officially published in an academic journal.

"I have been in this field for 30 years and I have never seen anything
like this before," said Leif Busk, head of the food administration's
research department.

Findings unveiled at a news conference called by the food administration
showed that an ordinary bag of potato chips may contain up to 500 times
more of the substance than the top level allowed in drinking water by
the World Health Organization ( news
).

French fries sold at Swedish franchises of U.S. fast-food chains Burger
King Corp and McDonald's contained about 100 times the one microgram per
liter maximum permitted by the WHO for drinking water, the study showed.

One milligram, or 0.001 grams, contains 1,000 micrograms.

KNOWN HAZARD

The Environmental Protection Agency ( news )
classifies acrylamide, a colorless, crystalline solid, as a medium
hazard probable human carcinogen.

According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer, acrylamide
induces gene mutations and has been found in animal tests to cause
benign and malignant stomach tumors.

It is also known to cause damage to the central and peripheral nervous
system.

"The discovery that acrylamide is formed during the preparation of food,
and at high levels, is new knowledge. It may now be possible to explain
some of the cases of cancer caused by food," Busk said.

"Fried, oven-baked and deep-fried potato and cereal products may contain
high levels of acrylamide," the administration said.

"Acrylamide is formed during the preparation of food and occurs in many
foodstuffs...Many of the analyzed foodstuffs are consumed in large
quantities, e.g. potato crisps, french fries, fried potatoes, biscuits
and bread."

Among products analyzed in the study were potato chips made by Finnish
company CHIPS ABP, whose shares fell 14.5 percent to six-month lows, as
well as breakfast cereals made by U.S. Kellogg, Quaker Oats Co, part of
PepsiCo Inc, and Swiss Nestle, and Old El Paso brand tortilla chips.

"For us, these are completely new findings which have never before been
known to the world's foodstuffs industry," CHIPS ABP said in a statement
to the Helsinki stock exchange.

Stefan Eriksson, marketing manager Burger King's subsidiary in Sweden,
told Reuters by telephone: "We have received the information and we are
evaluating what it will mean."

Spokesmen for the other companies mentioned in the research were not
immediately available for comment.

NO PRODUCTS WITHDRAWN

Margareta Tornqvist, an associate professor at Stockholm University's
department of environmental chemistry, said the consumption of a single
potato crisp could take acrylamide intake up to the WHO maximum for
drinking water.

Busk said, however, that the product analysis based on more than 100
random samples was not extensive enough for the administration to
recommend the withdrawal of any products from supermarket shelves.

"Frying at high temperatures or for a long time should be avoided," Busk
said, adding: "Our advice to eat less fat-rich products such as french
fries and crisps, remains valid."

He said the findings applied worldwide, not only to Sweden, as the food
raw materials used in the analyzes had showed no traces of acrylamide.

Swedish authorities had informed the European Commission ( news )
and EU member countries, Busk said.

"It is the first time we have come across such a result. We will
evaluate this study and look at it but it is important to say that
Sweden has not withdrawn any products from the market," said European
Commission spokeswoman Beate Gminder.

"Therefore we'll have to see what the scientific evaluation by our side
and by scientists in the member states will bring about," she said.

Liliane Abramsson-Zetterberg, a toxicologist at the Swedish food
administration, said: "The cancer risk from acrylamide is much higher
than (the levels) we accept for known carcinogens."

But smoking, which is known to cause cancer, remained a bigger risk, she
said.