§ Mr. GibbTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent guidance the Chief Medical Officer has issued1432W to the public regarding the incidence of acrylamide in baked and fried food; and if he will make a statement. [66835]
§ Ms BlearsThe Food Standards Agency (FSA) is responsible for providing advice on this issue. It advised consumers on 24 April 2002 that there was no need to change their diet as a result of research published that day by the Swedish National Food Authority, which had found previously unexpected levels of acrylamide in a range of cooked and heat-processed foods. Further information on the levels of acrylamide in food and their significance to public health has since been published by FSA and others. The FSA has reiterated, in statements on 17 May and 27 June, that on the basis of current evidence people should eat a balanced diet including a variety of fruit and vegetables, and that as part of a balanced diet people should moderate their consumption of fried and fatty foods. The FSA has not advised people to stop eating any of the foods tested. The same advice has been issued by an expert consultation convened by the World Health Organisation and United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation, and has been endorsed by the European Commission's Scientific Committee on Food. The FSA will publish further information on acrylamide in food as it becomes available, and will keep its public advice under review.