A very crunchy Milanese. A too golden toast. The meat well done. Many people prefer their food to be toasted because they find it tastier. However, some precautions must be taken, since among the compounds that are generated to give it that property is acrylamide, a carcinogenic chemical.
It is explained by Mara Galmarini, food technologist, PhD in Bromatology (UBA) and adjunct researcher at Conicet. “When proteins (such as cheese, milk, meat) are cooked at high temperatures with sugars (it is not necessary that it be table sugar, it can be lactose from milk or cheese itself) a series of reactions occur which are called Maillard reactions”, he specifies.
The result? "Darkening and Generation of Aromatic and Flavor Substances". That is, the toasted or burned that we like so much, like the cheese gratin or the crispy dough on the pizza.
However, Galmarini clarifies: “These reactions generate thousands of compounds. And many of those are what make baking and frying delicious. If it weren't for these reactions, we wouldn't love everything breaded so much, for example. Among these compounds, there is also acrylamide.
The graduate in Industrial Food Technology Roxana Furman indicates that it is formed "in vegetable foods, especially rich in starch".
"It is also found in a wide range of food products such as bread, potatoes, cookies, breakfast cereals, bakery products and coffee," says the expert, who along with Claudia Degrossi are the creators of the Instagram account @cazabacterias.
Now, what relationship does acrylamide have with cancer? What are the health risks?
“This substance is associated with carcinogenic, genotoxic, neurotoxic and immunological effects. The results obtained in animals allow us to infer that it is the same in humans. But, as with many other carcinogens, it is difficult to obtain direct proof, testing in humans”, says Galmarini.
“There are no studies that show a proportion of what we eat in relation to the acrylamide absorbed, accumulated and its effect. For now we know that it exists, how it is generated and that in high doses it can harm us, ”he admits.
Roxana Furman assures that its presence in food was detected by chance in 2002 and, from there, the risk of exposure in humans by this route began to be evaluated. Various studies analyze its presence in foods such as French fries.
“Today, the international perspective is aimed at reducing exposure to this hazard, since it has been shown that it increases the risk of cancer in animals, although the evidence is uncertain in humans. That is to say, in the long term we must consume foods with little acrylamide to reduce the risk to negligible levels ”, he assures.
As with all compounds we ingest, children are most exposed by body weight ratio. “The compounds that have a maximum dose are expressed in mg/kg of body weight. So a 40-kilo child can ingest half that of an 80-kilo adult”, remarks Galmarini.
Galmarini acknowledges that “there are no maximum toxicological limits for acrylamide that may be present in different types of food to make them safe for the population. Because it's difficult to determine in isolation, that's why for now we only have one traffic light."
Even so, and even taking the traffic light as a reference, it is not entirely clear at what point in cooking or toasting it is present. Therefore, common sense dictates that it should be roasted as little as possible.
“Recommendations are given, but nothing is very decisive: the difference between green and yellow is very subtle. The idea is to avoid badly burned parts. And above all, do not eat the breadcrumbs that stick to the pan, or scratch the cooking bottom a lot. Another idea would be to cook over low heat, which allows the heat to reach the center without burning the outside of the food," advises Galmarini.
In short, "the goal is to try to reduce consumption, include boiled foods, such as stews, casseroles, stews and, as recommended in general nutrition, have a varied diet," he says.
For his part, Furman advises to be attentive to the browning that the food we cook reaches, taking into account that the more toasted, the more acrylamide. "In the case of potatoes, for example, we should take them just golden. Acrylamide is not formed if we boil or steam them, but it is in the oven or fried," he clarified.
Coffee is another of the foods in which acrylamide is present. And the fact that it comes already toasted means that we cannot regulate its presence. Which to choose? Are there some with less presence of this compound?
It could be thought that roasting has more concentration, since the process implies the presence of sugar in the roasting of the beans. Galmarini admits that there is more acrylamide in roasting, but that there is also in roasting, depending on the grain.
To account for this, he turns to chemistry: “The issue is that in coffee, the grain has an amino acid that is the key to generating acrylamide, it is asparagine. When the coffee bean is exposed to heat, during roasting, the asparagine reacts with the bean's own sugars and gives acrylamide.
"In roasting, what is done is add more sugars, so I can generate a little more acrylamide, but the limitation will be the amino acid," he relativizes.
That amino acid is in different concentrations in the bean depending on the type of coffee. The grain called Robusta has a little more than the Arabica, exemplifies to finish.
Read the original Clarín article here.
