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AACC Forms Committee to Evaluate Swedish Study on Acrylamide in Foods

St. Paul, Minnesota (April 25, 2002)--Researchers at Stockholm University's Department of Environmental Chemistry in cooperation with Sweden's National Food Administration, a government food safety agency, released information yesterday that acrylamide, a potential cancer-causing agent, may be formed when carbohydrate-rich foods such as rice, potatoes and cereals are fried or baked. However, the foods when analyzed in their raw state or when boiled showed no traces of acrylamide. The scientists who conducted the research deemed the findings so important that they released them prior to actual publication in an academic journal.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency classifies acrylamide as a “medium hazard probable human carcinogen.” The American Association of Cereal Chemists (AACC) is taking this research very seriously and is investigating the issue further as no previous work has shown acrylamide at these levels in these foods.

David Lineback, chair of AACC’s Scientific Advisory Panel, has convened a group of AACC experts who are looking into the claims brought forth by Stockholm University and the Swedish National Food Administration. AACC is requesting a copy of the research paper that is based on a new analytical procedure developed by the Swedish National Food Administration. AACC’s experts are anxious to review and evaluate the data and methodology. “Until we can review the research, it is impossible to issue specific recommendations to remedy the situation for consumers or the food industry if indeed there is a problem,” says Lineback, Director of the Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition at the University of Maryland, “It is important to gather much more information at this point.”

The American Association of Cereal Chemists (AACC) is an international organization of nearly 3,500 grain scientists and other professionals who study the chemistry of cereal grains and their products or work in related fields. AACC was founded in 1915 for the purpose of standardizing methods of analysis among cereal laboratories. AACC’s methods are among the most respected and relied on collection of methods in the field of grain science. All methods must meet rigorous standards for approval by one of AACC’s 23 technical committees, which are composed of scientists chosen for their specific area of expertise.

AACC has been the premier cereal science resource for more than 85 years by proactively supporting its members' professional needs by providing an avenue to bring together scientific information and technical research on cereal grains and related materials, and their processing and utilization and by making it available through its various outlets. Members belong to AACC to keep up-to-date on key issues through meetings and publications as well as to have opportunities for professional growth and networking with their peers.

American Association of Cereal Chemists
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