One Potato, Two Potato ... Choosing Sides In the French-Fry Debate
Consumers have a tough time selecting a healthful diet. French-fried potatoes present such a dilemma. An article last fall in the New York Times dealt with a California proposal to place a health warning on commercially prepared French fries. French fries are rich in sodium and fat, substances that can pose heart risks. Public health officials in California said that French fries also contain unacceptably high levels of acryl amide, a known cause of cancer and nerve damage in experimental animals. Earlier this year, the Attorney General of California filed suit against several fast-food chains to require them to label fries as containing a substance that might cause cancer. I consulted the National Library of Medicine only to find almost 300 pages of listings of titles of abstracts of relevant articles in the worldwide scientific literature. Two articles, from the New York Academy of Medicine and the Food Standards Agency of Great Britain, offered the most accessible information.
Acryl amide has been used in industry for many years. Safety standards are in place for exposure to acryl amide in manufacturing. Its presence in food was discovered accidentally by Swedish scientists in 2002. Acryl amide is not added to food but is a product of the way in which food is prepared, at high temperature and low humidity.
When a naturally occurring amino acid, asparagines, is heated above 250 degrees Fahrenheit in the presence of starch and sugars, acryl amide is formed. Moderate levels (5-50 micrograms per kilogram) are found in heated, protein-rich foods and some cookies and crackers. Much higher levels (150-4000 mcg/kg) are found in French fries and potato chips. Both popular foods depend upon rapid frying at high temperatures. Content of acryl amide varies widely among brands of fries and chips. Researchers found no acryl amide in boiled or raw food. Intake of acryl amide, of course, depends upon sizes of servings of acryl amide-containing food. A standard serving of French fries at a fast-food restaurant typically weighs 2 ounces; the largest or super-size weighs 7 or more ounces. Using food-logs kept by a panel of adults, Swedish scientists estimated daily intake of acryl amide to range from 9 to 62 mcg. Using data from industrial studies, the investigators concluded that a daily intake above 35 mcg posed a health risk.
The Food Standards Agency of Great Britain reviewed available clinical studies in January 2005. This report emphasized that the exposure of the average consumer to acryl amide was 1000 times less than the amount of the chemical that causes cancer in laboratory animals. The effects of long-term intake of much smaller amounts of acryl amide are unknown. Pending further study, the agency advised consumers to eat a balanced diet, limiting amounts of fried and sugary foods such as French fries and potato chips. The acryl amide saga illustrates the problem of obtaining clear, dietary guidelines. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration are studying acryl amide and, presumably, other food-borne chemicals that might cause cancer. Such investigations may require years to complete. Pending formal reports on these substances, the FDA should establish a readily accessible web-site to alert the public to potential toxic or cancer risks in foodstuffs. We could modify our diets accordingly. For now, French fries, whether cooked at home or eaten at restaurants, should be limited in frequency and portion. For me, that will translate into no more than one serving per month.
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