The fact that eating foods containing acrylamide can be dangerous is not entirely new. Researchers have now examined the health risk.
Acrylamide is a chemical compound that is formed when starchy foods are baked, roasted and grilled. Elevated levels of acrylamide are detected in fried and fried potato products such as chips, French fries, fried potatoes and croquettes, but also in grain products such as biscuits, crackers, toast and crispbread as well as roasted (breakfast) cereals.
The substance was also found in coffee, nuts and Christmas cookies such as gingerbread and speculoos – according to the consumer advice center. It is known that acrylamide potentially increases the risk of cancer. Spanish researchers have now evaluated 28 studies with more than 100,000 test subjects. The frightening result: High acyrlamide levels increase the so-called cardiovascular death risk by up to 60 percent. Accordingly, taking high doses increases the risk of heart attacks and strokes and also the risk of death from these diseases.
In the relevant studies, the average acrylamide content of the diet varied between 32.6 and 57 micrograms per day. To put it into perspective, the acrylamide content of an average slice of toast is estimated to be around 4.8 micrograms per slice, and this level doubles when burned, Professor Oliver Jones, a chemistry expert at RMIT University in Melbourne, told The Telegraph.
A 200 gram bag of chips can contain up to 150 micrograms of acrylamide. The Federal Institute for Risk Assessment found the highest values in vegetable chips and potato pancakes in autumn 2024. A regulation to reduce acrylamide levels has been in effect in the EU since 2017. There is an acrylamide calculator on the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment website that you can use to determine how much of the chemical you consume every day.