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New Concerns About Safety of Chips, Fries

By  <A

HREF= " http://aolsvc.health.webmd.aol.com/content/article/1756.50703 " >Jeanie Davi\

s </A>

WebMD Medical News Reviewed By <A

HREF= " http://aolsvc.health.webmd.aol.com/content/article/1756.53096 " > Smi\

th, MD</A>

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Dec. 4, 2002 -- Popular brands of potato chips and french fries contain

highly variable levels of a possible cancer-causing substance, says a new FDA

report.

FDA researchers tested numerous brands of commercially available packaged and

fast foods for the presence of acrylamide, a chemical known to cause cancer

in animals at high doses, according to the FDA. However, it's not known

whether acrylamide causes cancer in humans or animals at the very low levels

in foods.

Acrylamide may be formed when foods high in carbohydrates -- sugars and

starches -- are fried or baked. Earlier this year, Swedish scientists

reported that acrylamide forms when a naturally occurring amino acid in foods

is heated with certain sugars such as glucose.

What the FDA researchers found was that the amount of acrylamide seemed to

vary a great deal from one bag of chips to the next -- even among the same

brand. For example, among bags of Lay's potato chips, there was a more than

two-fold difference in acrylamide levels between the bags with the highest

and lowest levels. And Popeye's french fries had an even wider variation --

with a more than three-fold difference between fries from different

restaurants.

" The FDA continues to find a wide variety of acrylamide levels in foods, "

reads an FDA statement released today. " The data show that some foods have

very little or no acrylamide present, while test results from other foods

continue to confirm the presence of acrylamide.

" Because of the substantial variability ... one cannot and should not

conclude that acrylamide levels in any given brand are higher than those of

another brand, " the FDA statement says.

Allan Novetsky, MD, chief of medical oncology at Maimonides Medical Center in

New York, has strong opinions on the matter.

Food processing warrants further investigation, he tells WebMD. " We've known

that charcoal grilling, that cured meat, produces carcinogens [cancer-causing

substances]. I advise patients to reduce the amount of broiling or

barbequeing they do, to eat less cured meat. " Chemical fertilizers and vinyl

chloride packaging are also sources of food-related carcinogens, he adds.

He advises patients that a well-balanced diet -- one that is high in fiber,

fruits, and vegetables and low in french fries and potato chips -- reduces

overall risk of developing cancer.

One industry source is not as concerned about acrylamide.

" There is no credible evidence that acrylamide in food poses a human cancer

risk, " writes ph D. Rosen, PhD, author of a special report from the

American Council on Science and Health. The FDA's claim is based on high-dose

studies in laboratory animals, says the report. " There is no evidence

whatsoever that humans ... increase their risk of any type of cancer, " says

M. Whelan, ACSH president.

Novetsky also advises patients to be " very proactive in pushing the federal

government to look at the safety of food processing -- even before it gets to

the table or barbeque grills, " he tells WebMD. " It's important that the

public raise a cry to enable our government to move ahead with better studies

of this issue. The food industry has its own well-supported lobbying group,

so the grass roots public needs to be heard. We have to press harder for

these kinds of studies. "