Prep Insight: Acrylamide In Food

From 11 April 2018, new European food safety legislation* requires all businesses that manufacture food, or prepare and serve it to customers, to understand the potential risk of acrylamide, take steps to reduce it and be able to prove that they have done so.

WHAT IS ACRYLAMIDE?

Acrylamide is a naturally occurring chemical substance, formed by a reaction between amino acids and sugars. It occurs typically when foods with a high starch content, such as potatoes, root vegetables and bread are cooked at temperatures over 120°C from the process of frying, roasting or baking. It is widely agreed that acrylamide has the potential to cause cancer and is therefore a risk to human health.

* COMMISSION REGULATION (EU) 2017/2158 of 20 November 2017