Gyeonggi Health and Environment Research Institute Finds No Acrylamide in Heated Processed Foods

by Lee YeongKyu

Published 17 Apr.2023 07:15(KST)

Gyeonggi-do Institute of Health and Environment

The Gyeonggi-do Institute of Health and Environment announced on the 17th that the levels of acrylamide, a suspected carcinogen, detected in 50 processed food products distributed within the province and 20 servings of French fries from food service establishments were all within safe limits after heating and cooking.

From March to October last year, the institute collected 50 processed food items (frozen bread products and potato-processed products) that can be cooked using an air fryer from large retail stores and online markets within the province, as well as 20 servings of French fries from food service establishments cooked by deep frying, to compare and investigate the levels of acrylamide detected.

Acrylamide is a substance formed when plant-based foods with high carbohydrate content and low protein content are cooked at high temperatures above 120℃. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), under the World Health Organization (WHO), classifies it as a Group 2A substance, meaning it is a probable human carcinogen.

Regarding the domestic recommended standard for acrylamide in French fries from food service establishments, which is 1 mg/kg or less, the investigation of 50 processed food products showed that when cooked according to the air fryer instructions on the product labels, 20 out of 24 frozen bread products had no detectable acrylamide, and 4 were below 0.4010 mg/kg. Among 30 potato-processed products, 6 had no detectable acrylamide, and 24 were below 0.6941 mg/kg. The 20 French fry samples from food service establishments showed levels ranging from 0.1180 to 0.9774 mg/kg.

A representative from the Gyeonggi-do Institute of Health and Environment explained, "Although the high cooking temperature and long cooking time of air fryers may lead to the formation of acrylamide, if foods are cooked according to the instructions on the product labels, consumers can safely consume foods free from harmful levels of acrylamide."