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Your Favorite Breakfast Might Be Giving You Cancer
The food safety watchdog said in a new report that when overcooked, these tasty breakfast favorites may contain high amounts of acrylamide, a cancer-causing substance.
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The FSA offered a few advice after publishing the report and recommended that people try to only cook potatoes until they are light gold in color and that they try to toast their bread as little as possible in order to avoid increased cancer risk because of the amount of acrylamide they ingest.
The levels of acrylamide, a known carcinogen formed when amino acids, sugars, and water in potatoes and bread are exposed to temperatures above 120°C (248°F), were highly variable.
Researchers with the FSA discovered that the crispier the roast potato or chip, the higher the levels of acrylamide they contained.
In the research, the palest and least cooked toast contained 9 microgrammes per kilo, while the crispiest toast contained nearly 19 times more – 167 microgrammes.
Experts at the Food Standards Agency (FSA) warn that the British love of crunchy spuds exposes them to the chemical acrylamide, which is also found in tobacco smoke.
Although the FSA’s study doesn’t have to mean you should stop eating toasts, it warns the public to keep the color to the lightest shade and the length and temperature to the minimum.
The problem is the roast potatoes and chips that appeared the most mouth-watering – which were darkest in colour and crispiest in texture – contained the highest levels of acrylamide.
Interestingly the study showed a huge variation in the amount of acrylamide present in the food depending on how long they were cooked for.
Bread should be toasted to the lightest colour acceptable.
When measuring the acrylamide present in a batch of fries that had been cooked for the longest period of time, the scientists found 1,052 micrograms of acrylamide per kilogram – a figure 50 times more compared to the batch with the lowest levels of the toxin present. And the study that the agency conducted showed that crispy potato fries and chips as well as bunt toast contain high levels of acrylamide.
But it’s not all doom and gloom as the research did provide tips on how to reduce the levels of the toxin in your food. Participants’ aim for this process is for cooked potatoes to be crispier (i.e. through more oil or fat being absorbed). The increased surface area may lead to greater acrylamide generation’.
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Scientists are still unsure about safe levels for acrylamide in food, with the European Commission considering the implementation of maximum levels.