Risk of cancer from toast or potatoes

Toast slices or potatoes pose a potential risk of cancer if they are overcooked or fried and have lost their golden yellow color, warn British scientists.

The danger comes from the substance acrylamide, which is produced when foods with starch (bread, potatoes, etc.) are baked or fried for a long time at high temperatures, as a result of which they begin to brown.

The British Food and Drug Administration (FSA), in its new official recommendations, according to the BBC, calls on consumers to be careful and take out the potatoes or toast, as soon as they acquire their golden color, in order to reduce the consumption of acrylamide.

 The FSA also advises consumers not to keep potatoes in the fridge but out of the fridge, as low temperatures raise sugar levels, which in turn increases the amount of acrylamide produced during cooking. According to him, potatoes should be stored on cool dark days with a temperature above six degrees Celsius.

Acrylamide is present in many foods and is a natural byproduct of the cooking process. The highest levels of this substance are produced when foods with a lot of starch are cooked at over 120 degrees Celsius (such as chips, bread, cookies, crackers, cakes, etc.).

The darker the color, e.g. the toast, the more acrylamide it contains.

According to the FSA, it is not yet clear how much acrylamide a person can safely tolerate, but it is thought that we are already consuming too much.

However, a representative of the organization Cancer Research commented that the carcinogenic effect of well-cooked or well-fried potatoes or toast has not been proven in humans.

 Animal studies have shown that acrylamide is toxic to DNA and causes cancer or problems in the nervous and reproductive systems, so scientists assume - although they have not proven - that the same happens in humans.

Acrylamide is also found in cigarette smoke, with the result that smoking exposes smokers to three or four times the levels of the substance, compared to non-smokers.

Efforts are already being made by the food industry to reduce acrylamide in processed foods and some progress is already being made.

 But, according to scientists, unfortunately most people do not even know that acrylamide exists and that it is potentially dangerous. That's why the FSA has just launched a public awareness campaign in Britain, in collaboration with the "gold" Olympians and with the slogan "Pursue gold" (s.s. color in cooking).

 KYPE source