Acrylamide, do you know these knowledge points?

Recently, the Shenzhen Consumer Protection Committee released a report on the comparison and comparison of potato chips between China and foreign countries in 2020. The report was subsequently over-interpreted by the media, causing some news that the carcinogen "acrylamide" in some potato chips exceeded the standard, which caused heated discussions. Regarding the "acrylamide" that is hyped by the media every once in a while, the following are the key points of knowledge:

1. Where does acrylamide in food come from?

Acrylamide is a white crystalline chemical substance used to produce polyacrylamide as a chemical raw material. In 2002, a study by the Swedish National Food Authority (Swedish National Food Authority) first found that processing certain foods at high temperatures, such as potatoes and cereals, would produce high levels of acrylamide. The results aroused the attention of countries and the public. Studies have shown that food is the main source of human ingestion of acrylamide. Other ways include drinking water, smoking and work contact.

Acrylamide in food is mainly produced by reducing sugar and certain free amino acids (mainly asparagine) after the "Maillard reaction" occurs during high-temperature cooking processes such as frying, baking and roasting. Its content is mainly related to food materials, processing temperature, processing time and processing methods. For example, coffee, potatoes, grains and other "high carbohydrate, low protein food materials produce more acrylamide, usually when the food cooking temperature exceeds 120 ℃, acrylamide will be produced.

2. What is the health effect of acrylamide in food?

Since the publication of the Swedish research results, countries around the world have been concerned about the possible risks of acrylamide in food to human health.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization/World Health Organization Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) has made an assessment on the toxicity of acrylamide. Acrylamide is neurotoxic to both laboratory animals and humans, and it also affects the reproduction and development of laboratory animals. JECFA believes that people who take an average amount of acrylamide from food have little chance of causing damage to the nervous system, reproduction and development problems. However, if the intake is too high, it cannot be ruled out that it may cause neuropathy. According to animal experiments, JECFA believes that in terms of toxicity, the most important effect of acrylamide is to induce cancer. Animal studies have shown that acrylamide is genotoxic, can cause genetic mutations and chromosomal abnormalities, causing genetic damage.

Based on sufficient evidence that acrylamide can cause cancer in laboratory animals, but there is insufficient evidence of human cancer, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified acrylamide as "possibly cancerous in humans" (Group 2A).

At present, international scientists believe that the impact of acrylamide on human health is worthy of attention, but they have not made a clear and unified conclusion on the direct harm of acrylamide to human health.

3. Control measures for acrylamide in food at home and abroad

Since acrylamide in food is formed during food processing, not added to food, it is difficult to set its maximum limit, and based on the current risk assessment results, there is no clear conclusion on the “risk”. Therefore, there are currently no international and domestic regulations or standards for the limit of acrylamide in food, but in order to ensure food safety, countries are actively taking measures to reduce the content of acrylamide in food as much as possible.

Mainland China: my country has not currently formulated the limit requirements for acrylamide in various foods. In 2005, the former Ministry of Health issued the "Announcement on Reducing the Possible Health Hazards of Acrylamide", explaining the possible health risks caused by acrylamide and giving recommendations for reduction . In 2012, the National Risk Assessment issued a risk assessment report on acrylamide in food, which provided guidance on the reduction of acrylamide in food in production companies and households.

At present, the national food safety standard "Acrylamide Pollution Control Regulations in Food" has been established in 2019 (refer to the 2019 National Standard Project Establishment Plan) and is currently being formulated.

Hong Kong, China: The Hong Kong Center for Food Safety issued the "Guidelines for the Industry to Reduce Acrylamide in Foods" in 2011 and revised the "Guidelines" in 2013 to provide suggestions to the industry to help the industry reduce the production of acrylamide in food, especially potatoes and cereal products And stir-fry produce acrylamide.

Macau, China: In October 2019, the Government of the Macau Special Administrative Region issued the "Food Safety Guidelines for Reducing the Acrylamide Content in Foods". The guidelines put forward recommendations for effectively reducing the acrylamide content in foods in terms of purchase, preparation and adjustment of cooking methods. Measures.

Taiwan, China: The Food and Drug Administration of Taiwan's Ministry of Health and Welfare issued the "Reduction of Acrylamide Content in Food Processing Reference Manual" in 2017, which provides reference for methods to reduce the content of acrylamide in 7 types of foods including potatoes, coffee and infant food guide.

Codex Alimentarius Commission: The Codex Alimentarius Commission adopted the "Code of Practice for Reducing Acrylamide in Foods" in 2009 to provide guidelines for national and regional authorities, manufacturers and other related organizations to prevent and reduce the production of potato products and cereal products Acrylamide.

European Union: In 2014, the European Union issued guidelines for the reduction of acrylamide in food, and formed a guide booklet for the processing of potato fast food, fried potato chips, grain food, coffee, and infant food.

Based on the 2015 EFSA's scientific evaluation opinion on acrylamide in food (the current exposure level of acrylamide is carcinogenic), the regulation (EU) 2017/2158 was issued in 2017 to formulate mitigation measures and baseline levels to reduce the content of acrylamide in food. Annex IV specifies the acrylamide benchmark value for various foods, among which the benchmark value for potato chips is 750μg/kg. The regulation stipulates that all relevant food operators must implement mitigation measures to reduce the content of acrylamide in food.

United States: The US FDA issued guidance documents for the food industry in 2013 to help growers, manufacturers, and food service operators take measures to reduce the content of acrylamide in certain foods.

Japan: The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan has set up "Q&A related to acrylamide in processed foods" on its official website, which explains the content of acrylamide in food. The main contents include: definition of acrylamide, evaluation of health effects, The degree of carcinogenicity, methods to reduce intake, and measures taken by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

4. What should companies and consumers do?

For food companies, although the state has not formulated a limit for acrylamide in food, based on the current research status, food producers and operators are obliged to take effective measures to improve formulas and processing technologies to reduce the content of acrylamide in food and ensure consumption者healthy. At present, relevant guidance documents issued at home and abroad can be used as an effective reference for enterprises to reduce the content of acrylamide in food produced.

Regarding consumers, there are two main points based on the recommendations given to consumers by governments around the world. 1. In terms of cooking methods, family-made foods should avoid cooking starchy foods for a long time or at high temperatures as much as possible; 2. In eating habits, pay attention to a balanced diet daily, and avoid excessive intake of fried, fried, or roasted starchy foods to avoid burning Eat more fruits and vegetables to reduce the daily intake of acrylamide.