Exploratory Data on Acrylamide in Food
FY 2003 Total Diet Study Results

On April 24, 2002, researchers at the Swedish National Food Administration and Stockholm University reported finding the chemical acrylamide in a variety of fried and oven-baked foods. The initial Swedish research indicates that acrylamide formation is particularly associated with traditional high temperature cooking processes for certain carbohydrate-rich foods. In response to concerns about the potential risk of foodborne acrylamide based on the known toxicity of acrylamide at much higher doses than those seen in foods, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) began to analyze a variety of U.S. food products for acrylamide. The data presented below are results from FDA's Total Diet Study (TDS) survey for Fiscal Year 2003 (FY 03).

TDS is FDA's ongoing annual survey of market baskets representing 286 core foods (ready-to-eat) in the U.S. food supply to determine levels of various contaminants and nutrients in those foods. Since its inception in 1961 as a program to monitor for radioactive contamination of foods following atmospheric nuclear testing, TDS has grown to encompass additional radionuclides, elements (toxic and nutrient), pesticide residues, industrial chemicals, volatile organic chemicals, and folate. Four market baskets are generally collected each year, once in each of four geographic regions of the U.S. (i.e., West, North Central, South, and Northeast). For each market basket, 286 foods are collected from grocery stores and fast food restaurants in three cities within the region, prepared table-ready, and composited for analysis. Therefore, each data point for a contaminant or a nutrient represents a composite of three samples of a table-ready (i.e., cooked, if required by TDS recipes) food type.

In FY 03, FDA began analyzing the TDS market basket foods for acrylamide to determine the occurrence of this chemical in the U.S. food supply.

• FDA is now posting the acrylamide data for FY 03.

• These results indicate acrylamide levels in a composite of three samples of a ready-to-eat food type (some foods are cooked according to TDS recipes).

• These data are exploratory and should not be taken to indicate the distribution of acrylamide levels in U.S. foods, or as an indicator to good product choices by consumers.

• The acrylamide levels in these foods at this point in the survey do not necessarily indicate exposure or potential risk that would be experienced by consumers. When estimating exposure or potential risk it is important to consider the amount of the food consumed and the day to day variation in levels, in addition to the level of acrylamide measured at a particular time.

FDA will continue to investigate how acrylamide is formed in food, seek to identify ways to reduce acrylamide levels, and study the human health risk of consuming acrylamide in food. FDA is collaborating with other federal public health agencies, international partners, academia, consumers, and the food-processing industry to coordinate efforts related to acrylamide in food.

Table 1. Acrylamide Levels in Food Products Sampled for the 2003 Total Diet Study

Notes:
(1) ND = nondetect
(2) The general limit of quantitation (LOQ) of the method is 10 ppb.
(3) An "X" indicates that the food item was not analyzed for acrylamide. Based on the data from the first two market baskets, certain food items were not analyzed for acrylamide in the third and fourth market baskets. Generally, if the first two market basket results indicated that acrylamide was not detected (ND) in the food item, then that item was not analyzed for acrylamide in the two subsequent market baskets.