The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the US has issued final guidance to help growers, manufacturers and food service operators take steps to reduce levels of acrylamide.
Acrylamide is a chemical that may form in certain foods during high-temperature cooking, such as frying, roasting and baking. The National Toxicology Program (an interagency programme that evaluates possible health risks associated with exposure to certain chemicals) characterizes the substance as ‘reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen.’ Efforts to reduce acrylamide levels are already underway in many sectors of the food industry.
To help mitigate potential human health risks, the FDA’s guidance recommends that companies be aware of the levels of acrylamide in the foods they produce and consider adopting approaches, if feasible, that reduce acrylamide in their products. The guidance also offers a range of steps that growers, manufacturers, and food service operators may take to help reduce acrylamide levels.
Through this guidance and various research activities, the FDA is helping companies reduce acrylamide and reduce any potential risks to human health. The focus of this non-binding guidance is on raw materials, processing practices, and ingredients in a wide range of products including potato-based foods (such as French fries and potato chips), cereal-based foods (such as cookies, crackers, breakfast cereals and toasted bread), and coffee, all of which are said to be potential sources of acrylamide exposure.
Responding to the guidance, the National Coffee Association (NCA) in the US said the guidance “should have little or no effect on coffee manufacturing.”
According to the NCA, the relatively small levels of acrylamide levels created in roasting coffee are already public knowledge, previously measured and published by the FDA. The new guidance also qualifies with ‘if possible’ its acrylamide reduction advice, and so effectively acknowledges coffee’s special circumstance. “Although enzymes applied to soft foods have appeared to trim acrylamide, we are unaware of any viable application to the nearly impermeable coffee bean,” said the NCA.
The NCA also noted that recently adopted 2015 Dietary Guidelines include coffee, a fact that it said was “an extraordinary endorsement,” being the first time a non-nutrient food item has been included in the guidelines. Specifically, the guidelines state that ‘three to five cups of coffee per day may be consistent with a healthy lifestyle.’
