FDA Issues Industry Guidance on Acrylamide Reduction

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued draft guidance for
the food industry “to help growers, manufacturers and food service operators
take steps to reduce levels of acrylamide in certain foods.” A chemical
formed in some foods during high-temperature cooking, acrylamide has been
characterized by the National Toxicology Program as “reasonably anticipated
to be a human carcinogen.” Suggesting “a range of possible approaches to
acrylamide reduction,” the draft guidance stops short of identifying a specific
maximum level or action level for acrylamide, but includes recommendations
for potato-based foods, cereal-based foods and other products.

To reduce acrylamide formation during the cooking process, the draft guidance addresses what types of raw ingredients to use; how to transport, handle, store, and process ingredients; and how to prepare both fresh and par-cooked ingredients. In particular, FDA recommends, among other things, that the food industry (i) use certain kinds of potatoes and grains, e.g., tubers low in reducing sugars that have achieved optimal maturity and low-asparagine wheat; (ii) increase potato peel removal, wash potato chips before frying and cut thicker potato chip slices; (iii) add calcium salts, acidulants or asparaginase to potato dough in fabricated potato products; (iv) decrease cooking temperatures for potato products; (v) replace ammonium bicarbonate in cookies and crackers with alternative leavening agents; (vi) replace reducing sugars with non-reducing sugars in cereal-based foods; (vii) modify baking time and temperature to lower thermal input; and (viii) provide adequate instructions on frozen foods to guide final preparation by consumers and food service operators.

According to a November 14, 2013, press release, FDA plans “to publish additional data on acrylamide levels in certain foods based on its recent data collection and analysis.” The agency will accept comments on the draft guidance until January 14, 2014. See Federal Register, November 15, 2013.

In a related development, the European Commission recently published
recommendations stemming from its investigation of acrylamide in food.
According to the Commission, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)
and member states have monitored acrylamide levels in food since 2007 in
addition to working with food industry stakeholders to minimize the amount
of acrylamide measured in their products. Noting that a 2010 EFSA report
found no consistent trend toward lower acrylamide levels across food groups,
the Commission has replaced its 2011 recommendation with new indicative
values for acrylamide that will trigger further investigation by regulators.

To this end, the recommendations include the following indicative values
for acrylamide (i) 600 µg/kg for ready-to-eat french fries; (ii) 1,000 µg/kg for
potato-based crackers, potato crisps and potato dough; (iii) 80 µg/kg for
wheat-based soft bread and 150 µg/kg for other soft breads; (iv) 400 µg/
kg for bran and whole grain cereals; (v) 500 µg/kg for biscuits and wafers;
(vi) 450 µg/kg for roast coffee and 900 µg/kg for instant coffee; and (vii) 200
µg/kg for biscuits and rusks intended for infants and young children. The
Commission also clarified that these levels were not safety thresholds, adding
that investigations into acrylamide levels should include the food business
operator’s Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points procedures “with a view
to exploring… whether relevant processing steps susceptible for the formation
of acrylamide have been identified and whether appropriate measures
have been taken to control them.”

In the interim, the Commission has directed member states to continue
monitoring “the production and processing methods used by food producers
in cases where the level of acrylamide in foodstuff… exceeds the acrylamide
indicative value for the respective food category.” Member states will report
their findings to the Commission by October 31, 2014, and April 30, 2015, for
further evaluation. See the Official Journal of the European Union, November
12, 2013.