Saiprojects: January 2017

According to The Food Standards Agency in the UK a campaign was launched yesterday Monday 23rd January 2017 to warn about cancer risks linked to eating burnt toast, over-roasted potatoes and other starchy foods cooked at high temperatures.

I personally love my toast unburnt; alot people I come across seem to like to eat their toast burnt which to be honest, I have no idea why. When I saw this on the news in the morning, I was jumping for joy as I know its not something that would affect me. So if you eat your toast burnt, please continue reading this post and you'll know why you have to stop :-)

How do you like your toast and roast potatoes?

The campaign is based on longstanding evidence from animal studies in 2002, but the link is yet to be proved in human studies. Some experts are highlighting that other lifestyle factors pose much greater cancer risks, such as smoking and obesity.

What exactly is the problem with these overcooked starchy foods? Earlier mouse studies identified that high levels of a compound called acrylamide led to an increased risk of cancer.

Acrylamide is what makes bread and potatoes turn golden in color when fried, baked, toasted or roasted. The compound is formed from simple sugars, such as glucose, reacting with an amino acid, known as asparagine, when these foods are cooked at temperatures above 120 degrees Celsius. Asparagine is found naturally in starchy foods.

If cooked for too long, these foods turn from golden to brown and eventually black. As they do, they produce higher levels of acrylamide, further increasing your cancer risk, as highlighted by the FSA campaign, called "Go for Gold."

The campaign asks people to keep their food golden and not let it cook to those darker colors.

The aim is to increase awareness among the public. Although the research is not new, the agency believes that people remain unaware.

"Research indicates that the majority of people are not aware that acrylamide exists, or that they might be able to reduce their personal intake," Steve Wearne, director of policy at the Food Standards Agency, said in a statement. The government body analyzes and shows current research in food safety, nutrition and food-related disease of importance to public health. source-http://edition.cnn.com/