Study Claims Link to Dry Fat-Rich Foods and Increased Acrylamide Levels
A recent study has reportedly linked dry food containing low amounts of carbohydrates to increased acrylamide levels. Edoardo Capuano, et al., “Lipid oxidation promotes acrylamide formation in fat-rich model systems,” Food Research International, (January 2010). Sponsored by the European Science Foundation, researchers formulated a range of fat-rich model systems and then measured acrylamide levels after heating. Results apparently showed that the degree of fat oxidation significantly influenced the presence of acrylamide, a chemical by product of some high-temperature cooking processes that has been linked to cancer in laboratory rats.
According to the study’s abstract, foods formulated with antioxidants such as catechins and certain oils reduced acrylamide levels particularly in fat-rich, sugar-free foods “presumably by trapping carbohydrates and/or preventing lipid oxidation. More acrylamide was formed in model systems composed with sunflower oil than in those containing palm oil which is less susceptible to oxidation.”
The abstract noted that acrylamide formation was delayed in systems containing higher amounts of water due to evaporative cooling. In these systems, “the effect of catechin was more pronounced and the effect of lipid oxidation became detectable only after a prolonged reaction time. These findings suggested that lipid oxidation could become a relevant factor for acrylamide formation, particularly for dry foods with low carbohydrate content.” See FoodNavigator.com, January 28, 2010.
