Tuesday October 21, 2008 (foodconsumer.org) -- A Dutch study in the November issue of The Journal of Nutrition suggests that eating or drinking acrylamide rich food or beverage like coffee may not increase risk of gastrointestinal cancer.

Acrylamide is a product of the reaction between an amino acid called asparagine and reducing sugars in a processed food that has been subject to thermal processing. The foods high in acrylamide include French fries and baked goods.  

Acrylamide is highly reactive and toxic.   Evidence is abundant that acrylamide causes cancer in animals.   But studies on its effect in humans are inconsistent although it is observed that eating lots of baked or fried foods can result in certain symptoms in certain individuals.   Evidence has been found that this chemical damages breast cancer cells in humans.

The current study was conducted by Janneke Hogervorst at Maastricht University in the Netherlands and colleagues and it involved more than 120,000 men and women aged 55 to 69 participating in the Netherlands Cohort Study on diet and cancer.

The major source of acrylamide for the subjects was Dutch spiced cake and coffee. The subjects were followed more than 13 years during which 2190, 563, 349, and 216 cases of colorectal, gastric, pancreatic, and esophageal cancer, respectively were recorded.

The researchers did not find any significant association between intake of acrylamide and risk of colorectal, gastric, pancreatic, and esophageal cancer.

But they did find there were some significantly increased risks in subgroups stratified by obesity, non-occupational physical activity and age and suggested that attention needs to be paid to some subgroups.

A health observer suggested that the study is a statistical analysis and errors and biases are always possible.   Food consumers should avoid fries and deeply baked goods to minimize the potential risk.