[Food] Carcinogenic Compound In Coffee: How Deadly Is It?

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If you aren't already aware of the recent news in the food sector coming from California, here it is:

Judge rules coffee sold in California requires cancer labels.

Coffee in California is now supposed to be sold with a cancer warning. The judge of Los Angeles Court have found from the data collected by studies on lab animals that a carcinogenic compound, namely acrylamide, is present in the roasted coffee sold in stores and cafés. It was thus decided that companies like Starbucks will now have to put a warning label on their coffee stating the risk of cancer to warn their costumers of the potential risk the drink holds.

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What is Acrylamide?

Acrylamide (IUPAC: Prop-2-enamide) is a potential carcinogenic compound largely used in industries to synthesize polymers. It's presence in coffee is due to the roasting process which is essential to give coffee it's flavour and taste.

Acrylamide doesn’t appear in raw coffee itself. In fact, it is formed in a number of food which contain asparagine like potato and bread. It is formed when certain starch containing foods are cooked at temperatures above around 248° F. Cooking at high temperatures causes a chemical reaction between certain sugars and the amino acid (asparagine) in the food, which results in the formation of acrylamide. Acrylamide levels appear to rise as food is heated for longer periods of time. Although researchers are still unsure of the precise mechanisms by which acrylamide forms in foods, many believe it is formed during the Maillard reaction. This is why the brown parts of fried and baked food have more Acrylamide than the lighter parts. In fact, food items like crisps and chips are believed to have the most Acrylamide.

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How dangerous is acrylamide?

Acrylamide when dosed in lab animals at high amount increases the risk of cancer in them. However, there has been no confirmed link established in humans so far. It is not clear whether dietary acrylamide consumption affects people's risk of developing cancer. Experimental results that are based on feeding acrylamide to animals might not be applicable to humans. A number of scientists have spoken up about California Court's recent ruling , stating that coffee is benificial for humans and prevents several kinds of health problems including some cancers. The presence of acrylamide is not a valid reason to create confusion in the mind of consumers and neglect the health benifits of coffee. The facts stated by some scientists can be found in this article.

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Should you continue to drink coffee?

Probable yes, probably not. Since no effect of dietry acrylamide on cancer risks in human have been found thus far, consuming coffee does not seem as risky as it seems. Acrylamide is not formed in coffee by the process with which it is cooked, but rather formed during the roasting process itself (where Maillard and other reactions take place). It might not be an exaggeration to say that acrylamide is found in most of the cooked starch containing food that we consume and not just in coffee.

If you are moderately health conscious: It might not affect you as much and you would still find yourself drinking coffee while you enjoy your day.

If you are overly health conscious: There's always some tea time you can have! :D

And if you are not at all health conscious, here's a little gag:

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That's all from me today.
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