Are Your Crispy French Fries Killing You? The FDA Thinks So

Sometimes we think the Food and Drug Administration must hate happiness. Why else would they continually release dire warnings about our most favorite foods? Do they have a personal vendetta against all things delicious? In a move sure to upset the junk food lover in us all, the FDA recently announced a new danger lurking in your lunch… crispy French fries.

Researchers at the FDA are warning consumers to do all they can to avoid a new compound that may have carcinogenic qualities. Acrylamide is a chemical that emerges during high-temperature cooking, such as deep-frying or toasting. The chemical appears in about 40% of the average American’s diet, and has been linked with an increased likelihood of cancer and even nerve damage. That’s pretty bad. What’s worse is what foods the chemical shows up in: cookies, French fries, potato chips, toast, and coffee, to name just a few of the more delicious casualties.

So there’s a potentially deadly chemical lurking in a large percentage of your favorite foods, and there’s no realistic way to cut it entirely from your diet. Is this the time to panic and forsake French fries? Not quite yet; the FDA isn’t suggesting a ban on acrylamide as of yet, but they do encourage consumers to cut down on their intake. The easiest way to do this is to ditch crispy food from your diet: don’t eat the burnt popcorn kernels at the bottom of the bag, don’t burn your toast black, and stick to the softer, less cooked French fries in your order.

“There’s no reason to panic,” TODAY diet and health editor Madelyn Fernstrom explained. “Long-term studies need to be made, but in the meantime, just do your best to lower it. And, mostly, that’s going to cutting down on fried foods. There’s a lot of reasons to cut back on fried foods, and this is one more.”

Fried food fans are not pleased with this turn of events. They already have enough problems with the trans-fat concerns that plague their favorite meals. But professional chefs are criticizing the report as well, saying many of the best ways to prepare foods are coming under heavy fire – all over a risk that may not be that risky.

“People who try to caramelize onions ought to be praised, not criticized,” head of Chef Clinic (a program combining healthy eating with culinary techniques) and physician Dr. John LaPuma told The Wall Street Journal. “The amount of acrylamide you need to cause cancer in people is astronomical.”

This debate sounds vaguely familiar. Oh, that’s right – we’ve heard it all before. Remember when bacon was going to give everyone cancer? And artificial sweeteners? We have a habit of freaking out over scientific reports that suggest we might want to cut down slightly on our unhealthy food intake.

Acrylamide is not a new discovery; scientists first noticed the chemical in 2002 when studying starchy foods. And as you would expect, there was panic when it was determined that this chemical could lead to cancer. But despite the doom and gloom attitude of the FDA, acrylamide was not banned. That may have something to do with the sheer amount of the chemical you have to ingest before the cancer-causing agents begin to be a realistic concern.

But it goes without saying that you shouldn’t indulge in fried food for every meal (however much you might want to). A healthy and balanced diet should be a no-brainer regardless of circumstances. The FDA has released a list of tips to reduce the amount of acrylamide you’re ingesting, which you should check out. Still, this report is no reason to panic and completely upturn your dietary lifestyle. Just be smart, be aware, and go easy on the burnt toast. Now if you’ll excuse us, we have a very important appointment with some French fries.

[Pic via Flickr - Jessica Rossi]