Study Finds No Evidence for an Acrylamide/Cancer Connection
A study conducted by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health and the Karolinska Institute in Sweden found little evidence to back up fears that acrylamide might be increasing the risk of cancer in human beings.
Acrylamide is a compound that is created in many foods when they are baked or fried at high temperatures, including such snack foods as potato chips. In 2002 Swedish researches made a splash by claiming that acrylamide was present in many common foods at unsafe levels.
The study, published in the British Journal of Cancer, looked at the dietary habits of 987 people with either colon, bladder, rectum or kidney cancer, as well as 500 cancer-free people.
The study found that there was no link between acrylamide consumption and the risk of bladder or kidney cancer. There was a positive association between consumption of acrylamide and a reduced risk of kidney cancer, though this is likely due to confounding factors (i.e. people who consume high levels of acrylamide are also likely consuming large amounts of dietary fiber).
Paul Nurse, chief executive of Cancer Research UK, told Reuters,
We know that acrylamide can be carcinogenic to animals, but this study suggests that either the levels in food are too low to affect cancer risk, or that the body is able to deactivate the chemical in some way.
This is only the first of many studies that will be published on acrylamide, but at least the news here is encouraging.
Source:
Study doubts acrylamide in food causes cancer. Patricia Reaney, Reuters, January 28, 2003.
Tags: Cancer