From The Center For Consumer Freedom:

Since Prop 65’s passage in 1986, lawyers have exploited this safe-drinking-water law to shakedown food manufacturers for producing foods that have chemicals in them that might—emphasize might—be carcinogenic, depending on the exposure. In their sights now is a chemical called acrylamide. In 1990, California listed acrylamide as potentially hazardous due to concerns about workplace exposure. But more recently, scientists discovered that acrylamide can form in foods (in very, very low levels) during frying, roasting, and baking.

In May, a California law firm filed a lawsuit over acrylamide being in coffee and demanded warning labels on every cup of joe. Sound a little overzealous? Washington D.C.-based WTOP reports that even the Food and Drug Administration says acrylamide isn’t a major health issue:

“The FDA is continuing its research on acrylamide, but there is nothing that has been shown that this is a public health concern,” says FDA spokesman Doug Karas.

Karas says recent tests on animals showed that when exposed to very high levels of acrylamide, it can lead to cancer. But he says those are “much higher levels than we would ever be exposed to when eating.”

How much higher? The average person is exposed to levels of acrylamide thousands of times lower than the amount that causes cancer in lab rats. In order to be in any real danger from acrylamide, a person of average weight would have to consume 62 pounds of potato chips or 182 pounds of french fries every day for a lifetime.

For the full story, click on the link above.

The European Chemicals Agency has added Acrylamide (EC No 201-173-7 and CAS No 79-06-1) to the Candidate List of Substances Very High Concern (SVHC) for Authorisation. Companies who manufacture or import this substance need to check their potential obligations that result from the listing. A short summary of the obligations is available on ECHA´s website: Summary of obligations resulting from inclusion in the Candidate List of Substances of Very High Concern for authorisation

The ECHA 30 March 2010 press release is available here: Acrylamide included in the REACH Candidate List of Substances Very High Concern for Authorisation

Relevant Nexreg Compliance Links: REACH compliance, EU SDS authoring, SDS authoring

From the OEHHA:

The California Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has found that acrylamide meets the criteria for listing as a reproductive toxicant under the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986. Acrylamide meets the criteria for listing as known to the State to cause reproductive toxicity under Proposition 65, based on findings of NIOSH and NTP-CERHR.

Because of the significant public interest in this chemical, a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking identifying a proposed Maximum Allowable Dose Level (MADL) is being published concurrently with this notice of intent to list. OEHHA is proposing a MADL for acrylamide to assist stakeholders and the general public in assessing the potential impact of the listing. In the event the chemical is not listed for those endpoints, OEHHA will not proceed with the adoption of the proposed MADL.

Relevant information related to the possible listing of this chemical was requested in a notice published in the California Regulatory Notice Register on August 22, 1997 (Register 97, No. 34-Z). A public forum was held on October 1, 1997. Written comments were received and responses provided.OEHHA is committed to public participation in its implementation of Proposition 65. OEHHA wants to ensure that its regulatory decisions are based on a thorough consideration of all relevant information. If you wish to comment on whether this chemical meets the criteria for listing provided in Section 25306, please submit your comments to OEHHA by 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 27, 2010.

For more information on the proposed listing or to submit a comment follow this link: NOTICE OF INTENT TO LIST ACRYLAMIDE

Relevant Nexreg Compliance Links: CPSC compliance, OSHA MSDS authoring, MSDS authoring

From SFGate:

Besides Frito-Lay, which sells most of the potato chips in California, the other companies agreeing to reduce acrylamide levels are Kettle Foods, maker of Kettle Chips, and Lance Inc., maker of Cape Cod Chips, Brown’s office said. In another settlement last week, Heinz agreed to cut in half the acrylamide levels in Ore-Ida frozen french fries and tater tots and pay $600,000 in penalties and costs, the state said…

Procter & Gamble agreed in January to reduce acrylamide by 50 percent in Pringles potato chips. McDonald’s, KFC, Wendy’s and Burger King agreed last year to post warnings about acrylamide in chips and fries…

The settlement requires the potato chip producers to reduce acrylamide to 275 parts per billion in three years, a low enough level to avoid a Prop. 65 warning label. That amounts to a 20 percent reduction for Frito-Lay and an 87 percent reduction for Kettle Chips, Brown’s office said. Little or no reduction will be needed for most Cape Cod chips, but one product, Cape Cod Robust Russets, will require a warning label, the attorney general said.

The companies also agreed to pay nearly $2 million in penalties and costs.

Click on the above link for more information.

Andrea McCreery of the Roseville and Rocklin Today discussed possible Prop 65 warnings to be added to some potato products. Here is a snippet:

“I estimate that acrylamide causes several thousand cancers per year in Americans,” said Clark University research professor Dale Hattis. Hattis, an expert in risk analysis, based his estimate on standard EPA projections of risks from animal studies and limited sampling of acrylamide levels in Swedish and American foods.

Acrylamide forms as a result of unknown chemical reactions during high-temperature baking or frying. Raw or even boiled potatoes test negative for the chemical. CSPI today urged the FDA to inform the public of the risks from acrylamide in different foods, and to work with industry and academia to understand how acrylamide is formed and how to prevent its formation.

“There has long been reason for Americans to eat less greasy French fries and snack chips,” Jacobson said. “Acrylamide is yet another reason to eat less of those foods.”

A California attorney has formally demanded that McDonald’s and Burger King place a cancer warning on their French fries, as required by the state’s Proposition 65. Burger King faces a legal deadline of late June and McDonald’s of early July to respond.

The World Health Organization (WHO) held a three-day closed meeting in Geneva with 23 scientific experts specializing in carcinogenicity, toxicology, food technology, biochemistry and analytical chemistry convened to discuss the health ramifications of the acrylamide discovery, which has since been confirmed by the British, Swiss, and Norwegian governments.

For the full article, see: Carcinogen in Snack Chips and French Fries

It turns out food manufacturers will not be required to post acrylamide warnings on their products to meet Prop 65 requirements:

California has withdrawn proposed rules that would have required food manufacturers to place acrylamide warning labels on certain products.

The proposals, announced in April 2005, attracted “voluminous comments,” which could not all be reviewed within the one-year time frame allowed by law, and which resulted in the withdrawal.

However, California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) said it intends to submit new proposed regulations within the next 60 days.

Indeed, the issue has already resulted in significant tension between the industry and consumer groups.

The state’s voter-approved warning-label law, Proposition 65, requires that manufacturers alert customers about the existence of cancer-causing compounds in food.

But the inclusion of acrylamide, a carcinogen that is created when starchy foods are baked, roasted, fried or toasted, on labels is fiercely opposed by the food industry, despite claims that there is a legal obligation on food firms to inform customers of all possible dangers.

We’ll keep you updated if anything changes on the acrylamide front.

Source: Food Navigator USA.