Acrylamide updates: FoodDrinkEurope publishes latest “Toolbox” to aid prevention and reduction

25 Mar 2019 --- New scientific and technological developments have been added to FoodDrinkEurope’s (FDE) latest edition of its “Acrylamide Toolbox” which represents the organization’s most complete collection of knowledge on acrylamide formation and mitigation across a variety of foodstuffs. The updates are particularly poignant following last year’s EU acrylamide regulations coming into force, marking the beginning of the law which limits the amount of the suspected carcinogen allowed in packaged foods and forces manufacturers to closely examine and reduce acrylamide levels in products.

The 15th edition of the “Toolbox” reflects more than 15 years of cooperation between the food and drink industry and EU national authorities and shows the ongoing industry commitment to investigate pathways of formation of acrylamide and intervention steps to reduce exposure, notes FDE. 

The document displays the continuous work of food and drink manufacturers to generate and adopt the latest innovation to reduce the presence of acrylamide in their products.

Acrylamide forms in foods with reduced sugar which is processed at a high temperature. It is a chemical that naturally forms when starchy food, such as potatoes or cereals, is baked, fried or roasted at above 120°C. Lab tests have also shown that acrylamide in the diet causes cancer in animals and scientists have concluded it potentially increases the cancer risk for consumers of all ages. In 2015, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) concluded that acrylamide in food was a major public health concern.

The FDE’s update also incorporates the latest developments and applied scientific knowledge from research to industrial-scale food processing. The “Toolbox” describes different intervention steps which may prevent and reduce the formation of acrylamide in specific product categories.

Some key changes include:

- A more thorough distinction of the tools applicable for potato-based snacks and those for french fries. Due to different processing and finished product attributes, the same mitigation results cannot be expected for different product categories, and these were therefore appropriately adjusted;

- Coffee and coffee substitutes (mainly based on cereals and chicory) are now two separate categories, allowing for a more accurate designation of mitigation measures;

- The section on Methods of Analysis and Sampling has been rewritten to further consider issues surrounding measurement uncertainty;

- Relevant analysis requirements of the recent Commission Regulation and CEN standardization work on methods of analysis for acrylamide in certain foodstuffs have been included;

- Guidance to correctly implement Commission Regulation (EU) 2017/2158 has been provided.

- Given the wide range of product categories, processes and factors that are to be considered in raw materials used in food products, the Toolbox can assist individual manufacturers, including SMEs with limited R&D resources, to assess and evaluate which of the intervention steps may be the most helpful.