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Acrylamide cancer scare

6.1K views 26 replies 15 participants last post by  hotmetal  
#1 ·
So the health police are at it again. Now bacon butties have been categorised as "deadly" they have now got around to toast, roast beef and yorkshires, chips etc! Is life worth living I hear you all ask? Of course our beloved coffee, which is roasted, is by definition a no no! Where will it end?

I for one will keep loving and drinking the stuff and take the risk. Appreciate where the rest of you stand?
 
#2 ·
Massive overreaction there. :)

Pretty much anything baked/roasted has acrylamide in it, typically in safe levels.

They are concerned about burned toast, rather than toast generally, I can remember warnings about burned/carbonised food going back 30yrs or so.

Playing hopscotch on the motorway is considered deadly, bah, damned "health police", how is anyone supposed to have any fun these days? :)
 
#3 ·
Should we be concerned more about the Mailliard reaction or that -

"520 atmospheric nuclear explosions (including 8 underwater) have been conducted with a total yield of 545 Megaton (Mt): 217 Mt from fission and 328 Mt from fusion, while the estimated number of underground nuclear tests conducted in the period from 1957 to 1992 is 1,352 explosions with a total yield of 90 Mt." ???
:yuk:
 
#4 ·
Acrylamide is acknowledged to be potentially genotoxic and carcinogenic, and has been for years. Certain foodstuffs present a higher risk than others and children can be particularly at risk due to high bioaccumulation in relation to body weight.

We do lots of research on ways of reducing acrylamide levels both through change in preparation methods and by reducing asparagine levels in ingredients.

EFSA is always a good place to look if you are interested.

What doesn't help is the media having their "health-scare of the day", especially on slow news days. These are usually in response to the release of a new piece of work and are inevitably misunderstood and sensationalised. European food standards are probably the highest in the world (way better than the US), so if it was that much of a risk it would not be for sale.

That said - don't eat burnt bits and dark roast coffee is the work of Satan.
 
#5 ·
Do you have your toast LSOL too?! Hehehe. Food scares schmood scares. Try not eating anything and see how long you last! I do remember hearing about burnt toast and crispy bacon some 30 years ago as Mark said. Gave up listening to the media on such matters round about Eggwina Currie's heyday.

But what with the nuclear tests, geopolitical chaos and the fact I live underneath Heathrow (aaand breathe!) and also cycle and ride a motorbike, if I die from bacon sarnies or a DSOL subscription I will consider it a miracle.
 
#6 ·
I get fed up with these scares, one comes along and everyone freaks out - then another.. My mum didn't drink milk as she reckoned Lindane in pesticides got into it when cows eat grass treated with it.. She always eat healthy (organic everything.. and rarely cooked) she died 4 years ago of cancer (67). My dad grew all his own organic veg, and made his own slow-cooker stews out of his veg plus decent meat from butchers. He died of oesophageal cancer in August (71). He said 'so much for eating healthily and growing your own stuff..' Everyone else n my family that's died has been from cancer in one for or another. I'm not about to let a bit of burnt toast or crispy roast potatoes ruin my day.. I also like crispy bacon..

Right, I'm off to brew some DSOL and have some crunchy toast...
 
#9 · (Edited by Moderator)
^ Hahaha!

I used to buy Nutella when it first came out in those jars that you could use for beer glasses if you were a cheapie student. My mate's mum insists on calling it "nu-tella" like it's 'new' which makes me cringe. Then again she calls muesli "moo-selly". That is probably bad for you as well. Especially Alpen. Allegedly.
 
#10 ·
.what did they say about using dripping? Now they say it's healthier than using oil.
:rolleyes:
 
#11 ·
^ reminds me of a spoof 'advert' in Viz comic depicting a smiling 1950s type family and the slogan "They're happy cos they eat LARD" and in small print "issued by the lard marketing council of Great Britain". Or something.

If you spend your whole life eating a macrobiotic diet, you don't actually live longer - it just seems like it!
 
#14 ·
Xpenno said:
If you read the small print they fed some mice 52x the rda of acrylamide and some of them got cancer..... Its just noise to keep us from worrying about the real problems that the world faces.
Totally this!!

After the women's marches over the weekend, Monday morning arrives and the daily fail and loose women have managed to get most of the young feminist women I know totally diverted into indignation over directive idiocy on how children are transported.....
 
#23 ·
NickdeBug said:
perhaps everyone should buy a Sage Smart Toaster in order to produce low acrylamide toast - now with "one-touch lowering" (don't all toasters have this?)
One-touch lowering? As opposed to...? One reviewer also said it was "fun to watch, and silent". Wow, that's progress! Like watching bread toast... and the only noise my current toaster makes is a light -ker-chunk as it comes up. Then again my (clearly inferior) toaster features "high lift" levers, which in sage terms is probably "two-touch raising".
 
#24 ·
Rhys said:
Eat too many mice and you end up with snake hips.

That's a thought I'm trying hard to scrub out...
:rolleyes:
:exit:


Don't know what @Snakehips thinks
:D
It's all well and good you lot taking the
but it may surprise you hear that I've been on a rodent free diet now for many years.

Thats just down to personal choice rather than being scared into it by media headline grabbing sensationalism. So I no longer eat mice nor do I get rat-arsed any more at weekends.

I remember years back the media were reporting that whilst white mice were pretty low in Acrylamide and considered safe to eat, brown mice were definitely an altogether higher risk and should be avoided. Personally I think it's just about being sensible and eating in moderation.

I have heard that some who have in the past eaten, arguably, too many brown mice have gone on to larger things..... @Jumbo Ratty
 

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#25 ·
My stance on Media Health scares is this:

Even though I don't Smoke or consume much Alcohol, I'm going to die from something one day. If i'm going to die of something, it will be due to me eating or drinking too much of something I enjoy. If its coffee or overdone toast, then the Health police be Damned.