A new study by the British government's Food Standards Agency (FSA) reported that burnt toast and other highly crispy food contains high amounts of cancer-causing toxin called acrylamide. Acrylamide are chemicals that are produced naturally as a result of cooking starch-rich food at high temperatures like frying or baking. It is also likely to be produced by grilling and roasting food.
"Some foods are rich in acrylamide due to the way they are produced. Further cooking of carbohydrate rich foods, for example the grilling of bread to make toast, causes more acrylamide to be produced. This browning process is indicative of acrylamide production, levels are higher in well cooked dark brown chips compared to lighter brown cooked chips," quoting the report.
The amount of acrylamide produced depends on how long and how high is the temperature in cooking the food. Long duration and high temperatures form more acrylamide than short duration and lower temperatures.
The study is performed using 50 households. They took food samples from each household and measured their acrylamide levels in a lab. They found that 9 micrograms per kilogram of acrylamide in the palest piece of toast, while the darkest piece had 167. Fries contained more than 1,000 micrograms per kilogram of acrylamide.
The study said that regular eating of food that contains the cancer-causing natural by-product of cooking process can increase the risk of cancer.
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