It seems that not a week goes by without reports in the media warning consumers about the health dangers of eating, or in some cases, not eating, something that has been in our food chain for centuries. Those of us in the population who are middle-aged and healthy could be forgiven for wondering what the fuss is all about, given that we all consumed saturated fats, salt, sugar and who knows what else in our childhood diets. It seems that as food science gains more knowledge about what constitutes the typical Western diet, more warnings are issued about the consequences of eating something that had previously been quite acceptable.
Recent developments in the field of food testing involves a type of chemical which, when placed under high temperature, forms in starchy foods. This chemical, known widely as Acrylamide, was a successful find in 2002 by Swedish scientists. With food science still delivering surprises such as this, it is a challenging environment for food packaging suppliers responsible for disclosing food contents to the consumer.
Acrylamide is temperature-dependent, and forms when sugars are heated with amino acids in foods such as potato chips, French fries, some cereals, toasted bread and coffee. This would not be a problem except that acrylamide has been found to cause cancer in laboratory animals, and again, this is a very recent development, coming to light at a Committee for Food Additives meeting in February 2010.
No concrete evidence has proven to date that human beings will be affected in the same way by acrylamide. As a precautionary measure, though, food agencies from all over the world have promoted the use of other replacement additives and have suggested the reduction of acrylamide content in food.
Consumers may have been greatly exposed to acrylamide for hundreds of years now, but the new discovery about this certain chemical merits ample attention and thorough testing and evaluation. Until final results are known, there is a concerted effort under way by the food industry to find ways of reducing acrylamide in the human diet.
Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) has identified the major contributors to exposure in the common foods we eat. As a result, they have approved permission to use enzymes that reduce the formation of acrylamide in the major sources in Australian diets ie. bread, potato, flour based products and cereal-based foods. They will also follow up the use of such enzymes with food manufacturers to assess their effectiveness. Packaging suppliers will also ensure that information about acrylamide is fully disclosed.
Along with other initiatives being pursued with the key industry bodies, FSANZ suggests a "common sense" approach on the part of the consumer who may be overly concerned. The best advice currently is to eat a balanced diet rich in fruit and vegetables, limit the consumption of saturated fat and moderate all fat intake, in line with current dietary recommendations.
Recent developments in the field of food testing involves a type of chemical which, when placed under high temperature, forms in starchy foods. This chemical, known widely as Acrylamide, was a successful find in 2002 by Swedish scientists. With food science still delivering surprises such as this, it is a challenging environment for food packaging suppliers responsible for disclosing food contents to the consumer.
Acrylamide is temperature-dependent, and forms when sugars are heated with amino acids in foods such as potato chips, French fries, some cereals, toasted bread and coffee. This would not be a problem except that acrylamide has been found to cause cancer in laboratory animals, and again, this is a very recent development, coming to light at a Committee for Food Additives meeting in February 2010.
No concrete evidence has proven to date that human beings will be affected in the same way by acrylamide. As a precautionary measure, though, food agencies from all over the world have promoted the use of other replacement additives and have suggested the reduction of acrylamide content in food.
Consumers may have been greatly exposed to acrylamide for hundreds of years now, but the new discovery about this certain chemical merits ample attention and thorough testing and evaluation. Until final results are known, there is a concerted effort under way by the food industry to find ways of reducing acrylamide in the human diet.
Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) has identified the major contributors to exposure in the common foods we eat. As a result, they have approved permission to use enzymes that reduce the formation of acrylamide in the major sources in Australian diets ie. bread, potato, flour based products and cereal-based foods. They will also follow up the use of such enzymes with food manufacturers to assess their effectiveness. Packaging suppliers will also ensure that information about acrylamide is fully disclosed.
Along with other initiatives being pursued with the key industry bodies, FSANZ suggests a "common sense" approach on the part of the consumer who may be overly concerned. The best advice currently is to eat a balanced diet rich in fruit and vegetables, limit the consumption of saturated fat and moderate all fat intake, in line with current dietary recommendations.