A chemical reaction that occurs during the cooking of potato chips can harm your child’s health. Take note!
The fries and toast can be the favorite food of your children, but according to a study by the Agency for Food Standards (FSA) could be missing something serious about health eating starchy foods.
While it has long been known that overcooking can make some foods carcinogenic, the report goes into new detail about the dangers posed by acrylamide, a dangerous chemical that forms when starchy foods are cooked.
Acrylamide, which can lead to cancer and damage the nervous and reproductive systems, is not a chemical that is added to food during manufacturing or growing processes, rather, it is an all-natural cooking product that is formed during a chemical reaction between amino acids and sugars. This reaction, called the Maillard reaction, often occurs when foods that are high in starch are cooked at elevated temperatures, including frying, roasting, and baking.
In fact, the hotter and longer the cooking time will determine the amount of acrylamide you are producing, which is why burned and blackened foods are particularly high in the toxic substance. The types of foods in which acrylamide is generally found include potatoes, bread and toast, cakes and biscuits, and coffee.
Scientists point to a wide range of factors that can influence the amount of acrylamide in food, in addition to cooking, including storage, freshness, and surface ratio.
“However, french fries and toast have the highest levels of acrylamide and looked noticeably darker than the corresponding samples with the lowest levels,” the FSA researchers say.
The FSA is not saying you have to stop eating certain foods, but they offer these three key tips to keep your acrylamide consumption down:
1. The fries that are cooked should have a light golden color.
2. The toast must have a more acceptable light color.
3. Manufacturers’ instructions for frying or heating baked foods should be followed carefully.