Burnt toast, roasted potatoes can increase risk of cancer: FSA

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A study has found that exposing bread, potatoes and other starchy foods to very high temperatures can produce toxins that can cause cancer.

The study done by Food Standards Agency (FSA) found that acrylamide can be produced from toasting or roasting starchy food items in temperatures above 248 degrees Fahrenheit. Acrylamide is a carcinogen and the FSA advises to cook chips, potatoes and bread only until they are light golden brown, Telegraph reports. The outlet adds that the crunchier or darker the color of potatoes, chips or toast, the higher levels of acrylamide it contained.

"The risk assessment indicates that at the levels we are exposed to from food, acrylamide could be increasing the risk of cancer," FSA's chief scientific adviser Guy Poppy said.

However, the group explains that they are not stopping anyone from eating these foods. Professor Poppy recommended cooking them at the lightest color possible.

"We do not advise people to stop eating particular foods but... when making chips at home, they are cooked to a light golden colour," he explained. "Bread should be toasted to the lightest color acceptable."

For the study, researchers conducted tests on different foods to determine the levels of acrylamide. According to Medical Daily, the longer the food is cooked, or when it looks blackened and crispy, the higher the levels of acrylamide. They took their samples from 50 households.

When they cooked toast, they found that the burnt parts held 167 micrograms of acrylamide per kilogram, at least 18 times more than the piece that was not toasted. In roasted potatoes, the ones that took the longest to cook had 940 micrograms of acrylamide per kg, more than 75 times higher than the batches that were the least cooked.

In French fries that were blackened, they found 1,052 micrograms per kilogram of the toxin and were considered to have the highest levels of acrylamide. It had at least 50 times more than fries that were cooked the least.

People who volunteered their food for testing had no idea that cooking potatoes or toasting bread for a certain time can produce vast amounts of the carcinogen.

The researchers recommend stopping the practice of "fluffing parboiled potatoes" as it can increase acrylamide in the food.

"For roast potatoes, the deliberate fluffing up (shaking parboiled potatoes in a pan) that was witnessed on a few occasions is a deliberate attempt to increase surface area," the researchers wrote, as reported by Daily Mail. "Participants' aim for this process is for cooked potatoes to be crispier (i.e. through more oil or fat being absorbed). The increased surface area may lead to greater acrylamide generation."