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Food Stds Agency launches Go for Gold to reduce acrylamide consumption
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Wednesday, 25 January, 2017, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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The Food Standards Agency (FSA) launched the Go for Gold campaign, helping people understand how to minimise exposure to a possible carcinogen called acrylamide when cooking at home.
Acrylamide is a chemical that is created when many foods, particularly starchy foods like potatoes and bread, are cooked for long periods at high temperatures, such as when baking, frying, grilling, toasting and roasting. The scientific consensus is that acrylamide has the potential to cause cancer in humans.
FSA has teamed up with Olympic gold medallist Denise Lewis, a mother of four, to empower people to make small changes to how they cook, to help minimise acrylamide consumption at home.
The following steps were suggested:
Go for Gold: As a general rule of thumb, aim for a golden yellow colour or lighter when frying, baking, toasting or roasting starchy foods like potatoes, root vegetables and bread
Check the pack: Follow the cooking instructions carefully when frying or oven-heating packaged food products such as chips, roast potatoes and parsnips. The on-pack instructions are designed to cook the product correctly. This ensures that you aren’t cooking starchy foods for too long or at temperatures which are too high
Eat a varied and balanced diet: While we can’t completely avoid risks like acrylamide in food, eating a healthy, balanced diet that includes basing meals on starchy carbohydrates and getting your five-a-day will help reduce your risk of cancer
Don't keep raw potatoes in the fridge if you intend to roast or fry them: Storing raw potatoes in the fridge can increase overall acrylamide levels. Raw potatoes should ideally be stored in a dark, cool place at temperatures above 6°C.
Commenting on her involvement with the Go for Gold campaign, Lewis said, “As a mother, the wellbeing of my family is my top priority, particularly when it comes to the meals I cook for them at home.”
“With so many factors to consider, it’s great that FSA is helping people to understand the changes we can make to reduce acrylamide in the food we eat regularly at home,” she added.
The Go for Gold campaign was launched following findings from its Total Diet Study. The results confirmed that people in the United Kingdom consumed higher levels of the chemical than was desirable.
Lack of awareness about acrylamide
Steve Wearne, director of policy, FSA, commented, “Our research indicates that the majority of people are not aware that acrylamide exists, or that they might be able to reduce their personal intake.”
“We want our Go for Gold campaign to highlight the issue, so that consumers know how to make the small changes that may reduce their acrylamide consumption whilst still eating plenty of starchy carbohydrates and vegetables as recommended in government healthy eating advice,” he added.
“Although there is more to know about the true extent of the acrylamide risk, there is an important job for the government, industry and others to do to help reduce acrylamide intake. This campaign is part of the FSA’s wider work to reduce the level of acrylamide that people consume,” Wearne stated.
“The FSA is continuing to work closely with the food industry to reduce acrylamide in the food you buy, including the development of practical tools like an industry toolkit and codes of practice which will be embedded throughout the food chain,” he added.
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