What is acrylamide and how does it end up in foods?

When certain carbohydrate-rich foods are processed at temperatures higher than 120 °C, such as during roasting, baking, frying, or grilling, amino acids and sugars combine to form a variety of chemicals in a process known as the Maillard reaction.  Acrylamide is one of these chemicals, formed as a natural byproduct when amino acid asparagine combines with a sugar during such high temperature processing events.

Acrylamide has been found in a variety of foods including roasted asparagus, canned sweet potatoes and pumpkin, canned black olives, roasted nuts, coffee, roasted grain-based coffee substitutes, prune juice, breakfast cereals, crackers, some cookies, bread crusts, French fries, potato chips, and other fried and baked snack foods.

How is acrylamide regulated by California’s Proposition 65?

Acrylamide is listed as both a carcinogen and a reproductive toxicant by California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA), the leading body for enforcing California’s Proposition 65.  It was listed as a carcinogen in 1990 based on studies showing elevated rates of cancer in rats and mice.  OEHHA has developed a No Significant Risk Level (NSRL) of 0.2 micrograms (µg) per day, though a higher NSRL of 1.0 µg/day has been proposed.

In February 2011, OEHHA added acrylamide as a reproductive toxicant due to its potential for causing increased developmental and male reproductive toxicity in laboratory animals.  OEHHA has developed a Maximum Allowable Dose Level (MADL) of 140 µg/day.