Potential health risks of acrylamide include cancer and damage to the nervous and reproductive systems, although risk levels differ depending on lifestyle and consumption levels.
The Committee on Mutagenicity have suggested that acrylamide could damage DNA, stating that ‘there is no level of exposure to this genotoxic carcinogen that is without some risk’. In 2014, the European Food Safety Authority supported the CoM’s views, and the Food Standards Agency has been keeping an eye on acrylamide levels in food since 2007, recommending that when cooking foods like bread and potatoes, they are cooked to the lightest colour acceptable.
