So, you may have heard about an EU directive in food safety legislation relating to Acrylamide. Here is an update on the current situation.
What is Acrylamide – pay attention, no yawning please!
Acrylamide is a chemical substance that can be formed on starchy foods when cooking at high temperatures. There is evidence to suggest that acrylamide has the potential to be carcinogenic. Acrylamide is produced when overcooking/browning/burning starchy foods such as potatoes and bread products.
What does this mean to me?
New legislation means that caterers may need to put procedures in place to mitigate acrylamide. However, the EU Guidance has not yet been finalised so there is no need to change any of your food safety documentation until this is issued. We will keep you updated.
For now, we recommend that you simply inform your kitchen team so they know what Acrylamide is and ensure your kitchen procedures are to cook starchy foods until they are golden brown only. To be fair, this is likely no change to your current procedures -unless you generally go in for overcooking/burning your food!
Alert
In a nutshell – Starchy foods should not be overcooked and should only be cooked to a golden yellow colour.
Food Fact
Did you know that bread remains one of the UK’s favourite foods and nearly 12 million loaves are sold every day. Sandwiches account for 50% of bread consumption; whether bought or home made