--- title: Europe Says Acrylamide in Food is a Public Health Concern description: The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) announced on Thursday that it has confirmed that acrylamide in food (a chemical that can develop during high temperature cooking processes) potentially raises the risk of cancer. canonical: https://time.com/3909491/europe-acrylamide-cancer/ author: Alexandra Sifferlin article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-06-04T20:19:38.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:59:01.126Z article:section: Health og:title: Europe Says Acrylamide in Food is a Public Health Concern og:description: The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) announced on Thursday that it has confirmed that acrylamide in food (a chemical that can develop during high temperature cooking processes) potentially raises the risk of cancer. og:url: https://time.com/3909491/europe-acrylamide-cancer/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbf4c0c044eabee19/698781575f570f5a32b15806/time-healthiest-foods-whole-wheat-bread1.gif?branch=production&width=1000&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1000 og:image:height: 563 og:image:alt: healthiest foods, health food, diet, nutrition, time.com stock, whole wheat bread, grains, toast, breakfast og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Europe Says Acrylamide in Food is a Public Health Concern twitter:description: The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) announced on Thursday that it has confirmed that acrylamide in food (a chemical that can develop during high temperature cooking processes) potentially raises the risk of cancer. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbf4c0c044eabee19/698781575f570f5a32b15806/time-healthiest-foods-whole-wheat-bread1.gif?branch=production&width=1000&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Why You Shouldn't Eat Delicious Charred Foods > Sponsored content. 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Health Matters is TIME's daily health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free daily newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ## Video: Should I Eat Tilapia? [Watch (HLS stream): Should I Eat Tilapia?](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/skJVWWc5.m3u8) (1:22)  _Published 2015-06-03. Tilapia is a fine fish to put on your dish, say all five of our experts._ by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Jun 4, 2015 8:19 PM UTC  Photograph by Danny Kim for TIME; Gif by Mia Tramz for TIME by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Jun 4, 2015 8:19 PM UTC The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) [announced on Thursday](http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/press/news/150604.htm) that it has concluded that acrylamide in food—a chemical that can develop during high temperature cooking—potentially raises the risk of cancer. The agency first released its opinion in July 2014, and allowed the public to respond. It has now published it’s official scientific opinion on the matter, saying acrylamide “potentially increases the risk of developing cancer for consumers in all age groups.” Acrylamide is a chemical that forms in starchy foods—like fries and potato chips—when foods are cooked at high temperatures like during baking, frying or roasting. According to the agency, animal studies have shown that acrylamide can damage DNA and cause cancer, but studies about the effect in humans are inconclusive. The agency says it continues to believe the chemical might be harmful to the public. The process of acrylamide creation typically happens when foods are browned. “Generally, since it is practically impossible to eliminate acrylamide entirely from the diet, most public advice for the consumer aims at more selective home cooking habits and more variety in the diet,” the agency writes. EFSA also says that consumers can abide by the advice, “don’t burn it, lightly brown it,” as a gauge on how to cook foods with lower levels. Other cooking methods like boiling, steaming and sautéing can be used too. In Europe, national decision makers will use the EFSA guidance to determine ways to reduce consumer exposure. In the U.S., the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) [recommends](http://www.fda.gov/food/foodborneillnesscontaminants/chemicalcontaminants/ucm053569.htm) Americans maintain a diet that’s higher in foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fat-free or low-fat milk and milk products, lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, eggs, and nuts. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3909491/europe-acrylamide-cancer/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3909491/europe-acrylamide-cancer/"},"headline":"Why You Shouldn't Eat Delicious Charred Foods","datePublished":"2015-06-04T20:19:38.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:59:01.126Z","description":"Acrylamide, a potential carcinogen, worries European officials","url":"https://time.com/3909491/europe-acrylamide-cancer/","keywords":["Diet & Nutrition","Food","europe","Cooking"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbf4c0c044eabee19/698781575f570f5a32b15806/time-healthiest-foods-whole-wheat-bread1.gif?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alexandra Sifferlin","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbf4c0c044eabee19/698781575f570f5a32b15806/time-healthiest-foods-whole-wheat-bread1.gif?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"healthiest foods, health food, diet, nutrition, time.com stock, whole wheat bread, grains, toast, breakfast","caption":"healthiest foods, health food, diet, nutrition, time.com stock, whole wheat bread, grains, toast, breakfast","creditText":"Photograph by Danny Kim for TIME; Gif by Mia Tramz for TIME","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/dietnutrition/","name":"Diet & Nutrition"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3909491/europe-acrylamide-cancer/","name":"Why You Shouldn't Eat Delicious Charred Foods"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Should I Eat Tilapia?","description":"Tilapia is a fine fish to put on your dish, say all five of our experts.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/skJVWWc5/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-06-03T23:08:26.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/skJVWWc5.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3909491/europe-acrylamide-cancer/","duration":"PT1M22S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3909491/europe-acrylamide-cancer/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```