FDA considering guidelines on acrylamide content.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued notice in the Federal Register on August 26 that it is considering issuing guidelines on acrylamide content and is seeking industry comments on the issue.

Acrylamide is a chemical forming primarily in foods baked, roasted or fried at high temperatures. Acrylamide in foods forms from sugars and an amino acid that are naturally present in food. It has probably always been present in cooked foods, however in 2002 Swedish scientists reported finding high levels of acrylamide in carbohydrate-rich foods and published evidence linking it to cancer in laboratory rats.

Last week, Health Canada placed acrylamide on the nation's toxic substance list, adding it along with 200 other commercially used chemical substances. While claiming that current consumption levels of acrylamide "may constitute a danger in Canada to human life or health," Canadian officials also acknowledged that recent research seeking to link acrylamide and cancer in humans has been inconclusive.

In its request for industry comment on acrylamide guidelines, FDA expressed particular interest in food manufacturers providing:

details of any manufacturing changes they have made;

* the success and cost-effectiveness of those changes;

* ways their methods could be appropriated by smaller manufacturers; and

* any revisions to package label providing instructions for consumers that may help reduce acrylamide formation*

Further information regarding FDA's notice and request for comments is available at:

http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/200 9/E9-20495.htm