Food safety experts at the World Health Organisation (WHO) are today (Tuesday) starting three days of meetings to investigate reports that crisps, French fries and other starch foods may contain a carcinogenic substance acrylamide.
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The meetings follow reports that emerged in Sweden in April that claimed that acrylamide fomed when rice, potatoes or cereal are fried or baked. Stockholm University researchers found that an ordinary bag of potato crisps may contain up to 500 times more acrylamide, commonly believed to be carcinogenic, than the maximum concentration the WHO allows in drinking water.
The WHO is reported to fee that the current evidence does not offer a full enough picture of either the formation of acrylamide in food or its potential impact on consumer health.
