French Fries Linked to Increase Cancer
Ronald Grisanti D.C., D.A.B.C.O., M.S.
Popular American brands of snack chips and French fries contain disturbingly high levels of acrylamide, according to new laboratory tests commissioned by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). What is Acrylamide? Acrylamide is a chemical that is used to make polyacrylamide materials. Polyacrylamide is used in the treatment of drinking-water and waste water where it is used to remove particles and other impurities. It is also used to make glues, paper and cosmetics. Polyacrylamide materials contain very small amounts of acrylamide. Acrylamide is also used in the construction of dam foundations and tunnels, and
new studies now show that acrylamide is produced in some foods prepared at high temperatures.
CSPI’s tests included several popular brands of snack chips, taco shells, French fries, and breakfast cereals—the kinds of foods that were initially shown to have some of the highest acrylamide levels. The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have been standing on the sidelines of what is fast becoming a major global debate, according to CSPI, which today called on the agency to treat acrylamide with greater seriousness. “The FDA has been strangely silent about acrylamide,” CSPI executive director Michael F. Jacobson said. “It should be advising consumers to avoid or cut back on the most contaminated and least nutritious foods while more testing is done across the food supply. The FDA also should be intensively investigating ways of preventing the formation of this carcinogen.”
Fast-food French fries showed the highest levels of acrylamide among the foods CSPI had tested, with large orders containing 39 to 82 micrograms.
One-ounce portions of Pringles potato crisps contained about 25 micrograms, with corn-based Fritos and Tostitos containing half that amount or less. Regular and Honey Nut Cheerios contained 6 or 7 micrograms of the carcinogenic substance. Among the findings:
The amount of acrylamide in a large order of fast-food French fries is at least 300 times more than what the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency allows in a glass of water.
“I estimate that acrylamide causes several thousand cancers per year in Americans,” said Clark University research professor Dale Hattis. Hattis, an expert in risk analysis, based his estimate on standard EPA projections of risks from animal studies and limited sampling of acrylamide levels in Swedish and American foods.
 I estimate that acrylamide causes several thousand cancers per year in Americans 
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-- Dr. Dale Hattis, Clark University research professor
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Acrylamide forms as a result of unknown chemical reactions during high-temperature baking or frying. Raw or even boiled potatoes test negative for the chemical. CSPI today urged the FDA to inform the public of the risks from acrylamide in different foods, and to work with industry and academia to understand how acrylamide is formed and how to prevent its formation. “There has long been reason for Americans to eat less greasy French fries and snack chips,” Jacobson said. “Acrylamide is yet another reason to eat less of those foods.” A California attorney has formally demanded that McDonald’s and Burger King place a cancer warning on their French fries, as required by the state’s Proposition 65. Burger King faces a legal deadline of late June and McDonald’s of early July to respond.
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Reference Center for Science in the Public Interest http://www.cspinet.org
Jagerstad M, Skog K. Genotoxicity of heat-processed foods. Mutat Res. 2005 Jul 1;574(1-2):156-72. Epub 2005 Apr 1.
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