Everyday Poison

I was reading this article on Yahoo! News today about acrylamide.

Maureen Cohen read a newspaper article about cancer-causing acrylamide in her kids’ favorite snacks and wanted to know more.

“I just got curious,” said Cohen, a mother of three in Vienna, Va. “If it’s known that it’s a cancer-causing substance, I sure would like somebody to look into it and find out.”

Acrylamide turns up in all kinds of tasty foods, including french fries, potato chips, breakfast cereals, cookies and crackers. But it’s difficult for consumers to figure out how much acrylamide is in a particular meal or snack.

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But compared with other worrisome chemicals in food, such as mercury in fish or benzene in soda, relatively little is known about how acrylamide forms, how it affects people or what to do about it. High levels of acrylamide in food were first reported by Swedish researchers in 2002.

Cohen looked on the Food and Drug Administration Web site to see how much acrylamide was in her potato chips — reduced-fat Pringles — but that kind of Pringles wasn’t listed. She called the company but was told to provide a letter from her doctor.

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“It’s simply impossible for consumers to try to keep track of how much acrylamide is in different foods and different brands,” said CSPI’s Michael Jacobsen. “Consumers rely on the government to ensure the safety of these products, and the government simply isn’t doing it.”

In a statement, the FDA said it is researching whether acrylamide poses a health risk to people. The agency’s focus is trying to calculate exposure to the chemical.

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The federal limit for acrylamide in drinking water is .5 parts per billion. That’s equal to about .12 micrograms in an eight-ounce glass of water.

By comparison, a one-ounce serving of Cheerios has about seven micrograms of acrylamide, and a six-ounce serving of french fries has about 60 micrograms of acrylamide, according to CSPI.

If the federal limit in drinking water is 0.5 parts per billion (0.12 micrograms) and a one ounce serving of Cheerios is 58 times higher than that limit, and a six-ounce serving of french fries is 500 times higher, what are we, as consumers supposed to think?

Since the FDA has not yet determined (a) if acrylamide poses a health risk or (b) what level is safe for human consumption, I decided to do a little research and see what I could find out about this potentially dangerous substance.

The Food Products Association issued an Acrylamide Fact Sheet (pdf) in a news release on 9/23/2005.

Acrylamide is a chemical compound that forms in foods as a byproduct of certain cooking methods, such as frying, grilling or baking — at relatively high temperatures. Acrylamide has almost certainly been present in food since the adoption of high-temperature cooking methods thousands of years ago.

Acrylamide is found in a wide variety of foods, both commercially prepared and those cooked at home, and is likely to be impossible to totally eliminate from foods.

A simple search on dictionary.com shows that acrylamide is “A readily polymerized amide, C3H5NO, derived from acrylic acid and used in synthetic fibers and sewage treatment. It is a carcinogen and is present in some foods, especially starches and cereals that are cooked at high temperatures.”

The FDA is still researching whether acrylamide is a health risk, but the dictionary tells us it is a carcinogen.

According to the EPA’s chemical summary for acrylamide, which was published in September of 1994, there were only three producers of acrylamide in the United States and it is used in a number of industrial applications. The primary use of acrylamide, which accounts for 90 percent of all use, is in the production of polyacrylamide polymers which have been used as additives in the coagulation process of water treatment.

Yummy! The same stuff that occurs naturally in some cooked foods is actually used to help “hold shit together” at water treatment plants.

Acrylamide is also used as a superabsorbent in disposable diapers, medical products, and agricultural products. Small amounts are used in sugar beet juice clarification, adhesives, printing ink emulsion stabilizers, textile printing paste and many other processes.

The summary also mentions that there have been cases of human poisoning:

Cases of human poisoning have been documented from well water contaminated with acrylamide (no amounts given) from sewer grouting (HSDB 1994).

HSDB stands for hazardous substance database, and you can find it at http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/sis/htmlgen?HSDB.

The EPA sheet explains that although there is inadequate evidence from human studies, animal studies have shown that acrylamide causes a variety of tumors in rats and mice.

Acrylamide has been classified by the EPA as a probable human carcinogen, and causes chromosomal aberrations, dominant lethality, sister chromatid exchanges and unscheduled DNA synthesis in various in vitro and in vivo systems.

So, to summarize… Not only might it cause cancer, but its effect may be also be hereditary. But that’s not all.

Acrylamide is a neurotoxin by either oral (in animals) or inhalation exposure (in humans and in animals). Toxic effects are central and peripheral neuropathy causing drowsiness, hallucinations, distal numbness, and ataxia. Recovery is possible after cessation of exposure.

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Studies of the effects of acrylamide in humans indicate that neurotoxicity, including paresthesias in the fingers, coldness, numbness in lower limbs, and weakness of the hands and feet; no additional detail is provided (U.S. EPA 1985). Acrylamide is a neurotoxin with an affinity for the peripheral ends of the spinal nerves in the extremities (IARC 1985). Exposures in humans have been associated with polyneuropathy with motor and sensory impairment marked by numbness, paresthesias, ataxia, tremor, dysarthria, and midbrain lesions (HSDB 1994). Ingestion of contaminated drinking water has caused drowsiness, disturbances of balance, confusion, memory loss, and hallucinations (HSDB 1994). A study of factory workers exposed to 0.07 to 2.5 times the NIOSH recommended exposure limit (0.03 mg/m3) showed a dose response relationship for abnormal sensation, decreased motor strength, abnormal gait or rombergism, and skin abnormalities (HSDB 1994).

While the FDA “works” to determine if acrylamide in our food is safe, the EPA has already discovered that acrylamide in drinking water does present a dangerous problem. It may not be long term, and it may not be cancer, but it clearly is not “safe for human consumption”.

The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 list acrylamide as a hazardous air pollutant, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has set the permissible exposure limit at 0.3 milligrams per cubic meter of air. The HSDB says, “Acrylamide is toxic and an irritant”, yet the FDA has not yet determined whether or not acrylamide poses a health threat in our food supply.

The Environmental Working Group has an ingredient report on their website that lists acrylamide as an ingredient in moisturizers and conditioners. Their data shows acrylamide to be toxic, harmful, a potential cause of cancer, an irritant, and a possible mutagenic.

In August of 2002, the Food Safety News said,

Acrylamide is an odorless solid that exists as flake-like crystals. It is produced as a precursor to the production of polyacrylamide polymers, and used to make adhesives, print ink stabilizers, thickening agents for agricultural sprays, and water retention aids.

Acrylamide enters the body when breathed in with contaminated air or when consumed with contaminated food or water. It can also be absorbed through skin contact. It is excreted in urine.

Recent Swedish research findings indicate that acrylamide can be formed during the preparation of foods and that it may occur in a variety of cooked foods. Previously, food was not recognized as a source. However, it may be an occupational hazard for workers in the paper and pulp, construction, foundry, oil drilling, textiles, cosmetics, food processing, plastics, mining and agricultural industries. The Swedish study reported high levels of acrylamide in fried potato crisps and chips, and in a variety of baked cereal-based products. The high temperature of frying and length of cooking time appear to be factors in the formation of the substance. Clearly, additional investigation is needed on food sources of acrylamide.

Apparently, from what I have found, the FDA is the only agency on the planet that is not yet sure if acrylamide actually poses a health threat to humans. But at least they are working on it…

Oct 7, 2002:

On September 30, 2002 the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) set in motion their plan to identify and eliminate or at least reduce acrylamide in the food supply in as few months as possible.

Jun 18, 2005:

The initial study in Sweden that suggested starches produce acrylamide, conducted early in 2002, was viewed with skepticism. But the formation of acrylamide in this way has now been confirmed by independent studies in England, Norway, Switzerland, Germany, and the United States.

The WHO expert panel unanimously concluded that the results of these studies are valid. They also unanimously agreed there is a major concern that the levels of acrylamide found in some potato chips and French fries could cause cancer. The amount of acrylamide varies from brand to brand, and between cooking techniques. The Center for Science in the Public Interest has commissioned testing of levels in some US brands. The acrylamide in a large order of fast food fries was at least 300 times the amount allowed by the EPA in a glass of water. One brand studied contained 600 times the EPA amount.

Besides agreeing on their cancer concern, and on the validity of the studies done so far, the panel called for urgent new research to further define the scope of the risk and the extent of the problem. In the meantime, they are urging a balanced diet with lots of fruits and vegetables, while decreasing the amounts of fried foods. They said it is too early to specify which fried foods should be avoided.

Based on the evidence currently available, I would go further. In good conscience, I could not recommend that children eat French fries, potato chips, or corn chips until further research is in, or until the brand has been tested and found to have low levels. I recognize that French fries and potato chips are favorite items on kids’ menus everywhere, but the benefits just do not justify the risks!

I would also like to see labeling on foods to indicate the presence and amount of acrylamide, so that people can make an informed choice about the risks for themselves and for their kids.

It took them three years to decide there might be a risk, and to look into it further? Can you believe that? Meanwhile, people across the United States and the world continue to ingest acrylamide at enormous levels, not even knowing there may be a problem, let alone what consequences it may bring.

As I stated earlier, the EPA lists the federal limit of acrylamide in drinking water at 0.5 parts per billion and according to the FDA’s own studies, as of 2003, the following food products exceeded that “safe” limit:

Mrs. Paul’s Crispy Fish Fillets (baked) - 12 ppb (24 times the safe limit)
Beech Nut Stage 2 Butternut Squash - 22 ppb (44 times the safe limit)
Gerber Tender Harvest Organic Sweet Potatoes - 121 ppb (242 times the safe limit)
Gerber Finger Foods Biter Biscuits - 130 ppb (260 times the safe limit)
Arby’s French Fries - 252 ppb (504 times the safe limit)
KFC French Fries - 313 ppb (626 times the safe limit)
Sara Lee Plain Mini Bagels (toasted) - 343 ppb (686 times the safe limit)
McDonald’s French Fries - 497 ppb (994 times the safe limit)
Lay’s Classic Potato Chips - 549 ppb (1,098 times the safe limit)
Snyder’s of Hanover Veggie Crisps - 832 ppb (1,664 times the safe limit)
Hershey’s Cocoa - 909 ppb (1,818 times the safe limit)
Baked! Lay’s Original Naturally Baked Potato Crisps - 1096 ppb (2,192 times the safe limit)
Lipton Recipe Secrets Onion Soup & Dip Mix - 1184 ppb (2,368 times the safe limit)
Pringles Sweet Mesquite BBQ Flavored Potato Crisps - 2510 ppb (5,020 times the safe limit)

Again, as consumers, what are we supposed to think about this? The EPA has determined what the safe level of acrylamide is, and it’s obvious we are ingesting far greater amounts every day. Does it have long term effects? Does it cause cancer? Will our children, or our children’s children be affected by our ignorance?

In a perfect world, food manufacturers would report the levels in their product information. But this is not a perfect world, and the sad truth is, no one will voluntarily report the level of acrylamide in their product, because to do so would put their companies at risk the moment we find out we’re eating ourselves to death.