Food & Drink / Products / Acrylamide in Cooked Foods (French Fries, Coffee, Bread, Maillard Reaction)

Acrylamide in Cooked Foods (French Fries, Coffee, Bread, Maillard Reaction) — food safety profile

Moderate risk

Acrylamide forms during high-temperature cooking (>120C/248F) via Maillard reaction between asparagine (amino acid) and reducing sugars.

What is this product?

Acrylamide forms during high-temperature cooking (>120C/248F) via Maillard reaction between asparagine (amino acid) and reducing sugars. Highest levels: French fries (300-600 ppb), potato chips (500-2000 ppb), coffee (175-350 ppb), toast/bread crusts (50-400 ppb), breakfast cereals (50-350 ppb). IARC Group 2A (probable carcinogen). FDA: issued guidance (2016) but no regulatory limits. EU Regulation 2017/2158: benchmark levels (not limits) for acrylamide in food. Reduction strategies: lower cooking temperature, shorter frying time, soaking potatoes (removes asparagine), selecting low-asparagine varieties. Acrylamide is unavoidable in cooked foods — the question is dose management.

What's in it

Click any compound name for its full safety profile, regulatory consensus, and exposure data.

Process Contaminant

Frequently asked questions

No FAQs generated.

Look up Acrylamide in Cooked Foods (French Fries, Coffee, Bread, Maillard Reaction) in the food app

Search by ingredient, browse by category, or compare to alternatives in the live app.

Open in food View raw API data

Reference data, not professional advice. Aggregates publicly available regulatory and scientific information. Why we built ALETHEIA →