Could hot chips link to cancer?

We all have guilty food pleasures that we know aren’t that good for us. If hot chips, also known as French fries, are your vice then look away now because a new paper published in the journal Crop Science has some bad news for you as hot chips have been shown to contain acrylamide.

The evidence from human studies on the effects of acrylamide is still incomplete but the International Agency for Research in Cancer considers it a "probable human carcinogen".

Hot chips of course are made from potatoes and potatoes contain an amino acid called asparagines. This amino acid is found in many plant and animal foods but when cooked at high temperatures (above 120 degrees Celsius) sugars react with amino acids including asparagines in a process known as the Maillard reaction. This Maillard reaction is what gives hot chips their famed flavour and colour but it also forms a substance called acrylamide.

Research has shown that acrylamide poses a risk for several cancers in rodents. The evidence from human studies on the effects of acrylamide is still incomplete but the International Agency for Research in Cancer considers it a “probable human carcinogen”.

This new paper looked at 149 breeds of potato to see if might be possible to use certain potato breeds that would be less likely to produce acrylamide. The analysis did find that it is possible to choose potato breeds that reduce acrylamide levels, but good luck asking your hot chip provider if they are using those particular breeds.

Next time you order your fries you might want to think about whether you really want your acrylamide with that.