HEALTH REPORT - Acrylamide in Fried Foods

HEALTH REPORT -July 10, 2002: Acrylamide in Fried¹ Foods

By Nancy Steinbach
This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

Twenty-three international health experts say they are concerned about the possible health effects of a harmful
chemical found in some popular foods.

The experts made the announcement at the end of a recent meeting of the World Health Organization in Geneva,
Switzerland. The W-H-O and the Food and Agriculture Organization called the meeting to examine the results of
earlier studies of the chemical, acrylamide (a-KRILL-a-mide). Acrylamide causes cancer in laboratory² animals.
There is no proof³ that it causes cancer in humans. However, it is known to damage the human nervous system.

In April, Swedish scientists found high levels of acrylamide in several kinds of carbohydrate⁴ foods that are fried
or baked at high temperatures. They include French fried potatoes, potato chips, crackers⁵, breakfast cereals⁶ and
bread. Millions of people around the world eat these foods.

Sweden’s National Food Administration⁷ tested more than one-hundred different kinds of
carbohydrate foods. It found that a bag of potato chips contained five -hundred times more
acrylamide than is considered safe by the W-H-O. Researchers also tested French fried
potatoes from an American fast-food eating place. They found one-hundred times the safe limit
of acrylamide. They also found high levels of the chemical in some cereals. Similar results
were found in later studies done in Norway, Britain, Switzerland, Germany and the United
States.

These results led the World Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization to

call the meeting in Geneva. The experts at the meeting called the situation a serious problem.
They urged the food industry to reduce levels of acrylamide in their products. But they said more study is needed
to find out the risk from foods containing acrylamide. They want to create a group that will examine the results of
all the studies from governments, universities and industries around the world.

The scientists said they did not have enough information to warn people not to eat foods containing acrylamide.
But they said people should eat a balanced diet with more fruits and vegetables and limited amounts of fatty and
fried foods.

This VOA Special English Health Report was written by Nancy Steinbach.

 

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1 fried   

adj.油煎的；油炒的

参考例句：

• I ate everything fried.所有油炸的我都吃。
• I prefer fried peanuts.我选择炸花生。

2 laboratory   

n.实验室，化验室

参考例句：

• She has donated money to establish a laboratory.她捐款成立了一个实验室。
• Our laboratory equipment isn't perfect,but we must make do.实验室设备是不够理想，但我们只好因陋就简。

3 proof   

adj.防...的，耐...的，能防护；n.校样，证据，证明；vt.检验，给...做防护措施

参考例句：

• He is living proof of the wonders of modern medicine.他是当代医学奇迹的活证明。
• The proof was fished up from some old papers.校样在旧文件中被找到了。

4 carbohydrate   

n.碳水化合物；糖类；(plural)淀粉质或糖类

参考例句：

• You should not have too much carbohydrate in your diet.你日常饮食中不该有过多碳水化合物。
• Cashew nuts are rich in carbohydrate.腰果含丰富碳水化合物。

5 crackers   

adj.精神错乱的，癫狂的n.爆竹( cracker的名词复数 )；薄脆饼干；（认为）十分愉快的事；迷人的姑娘

参考例句：

• That noise is driving me crackers. 那噪声闹得我简直要疯了。
• We served some crackers and cheese as an appetiser. 我们上了些饼干和奶酪作为开胃品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 cereals   

n.谷类食品，谷类；麦片粥

参考例句：

• By cereals we mean wheat,oats,rye,barley,and all that.谈到谷物，我们指的是小麦、燕麦、黑麦、大麦之类的东西。
• Wheat and rice are cereals.小麦和水稻是谷类植物。

7 administration   

n.经营，管理；行政，行政机关，管理部门

参考例句：

• Who is in charge of the administration of your company?你们公司的行政工作由谁负责？
• The teachers are responsible to the school administration.教师向学校行政负责。