The UK's FSA (food Standards Agency) has published interim results from its fifth and latest study looking at levels of acrylamide, furan and the process contaminants in a range of UK foods.
Based on samples taken from 300 products – including French fries, potato crisps, soft bread, breakfast cereals and biscuits and crackers - collected between November 2011 to December 2012, the survey gives a snapshot of the range of acrylamide and furan levels in UK retail foods.
The levels of acrylamide and furan reported do not increase concern about the risk to human health and the Agency has not changed its advice to consumers.
As with previous years, the survey results for acrylamide and furan will be sent to EFSA for collation, trend analysis and, in the case of furan, a risk assessment.
The results of the current 2012-2013 survey will be published in 2014. Where possible, it will include statistical trending analyses of all the UK survey data on acrylamide and furan levels collected by the Agency since 2007.
This interim report is part of a rolling programme, in response to European Commission recommendations, to investigate the levels of acrylamide and furan in retail food. Of the 300 products sampled, 294 were analysed for acrylamide and 113 analysed for furan.
For this 2011- 2012 period, the number of products found to contain acrylamide levels that exceeded the ‘indicative value’ (IV) for their food group (see para 4) was 17. Where an acrylamide level has exceeded an IV, the Agency has asked the relevant local authority to investigate.
Acrylamide is formed in food as a result of cooking and processing at temperatures above 120°C. It is formed from a chemical reaction between natural components in food, the amino acid, asparagine and naturally present or added sugars. It is less likely to occur in foods cooked at lower temperatures for short periods, such as boiled potatoes.
Furan is formed in food during roasting, frying and canning as a result of the thermal degradation of sugars, oxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids or decomposition of ascorbic acid (vitamin C).
