Suspected carcinogen found in some foods

WASHINGTON – The Food and Drug Administration Wednesday reported it had found high levels of the potentially cancer-causing substance acrylamide in a wide range of fried and baked products, particularly in French fries, potato chips and crackers.

The high levels discovered represent the first detailed American confirmation of earlier surprise findings from Europe, and have led to a broad FDA effort to determine whether acrylamide poses a cancer risk that requires changes in how foods are cooked and consumed.

So far, officials say, they have not found acrylamide risks great enough to recommend that consumers avoid any groups of food or specific products. It remains uncertain whether people consume enough acrylamide in their food for it to be harmful and whether the substance – which causes cancer in laboratory animals at high doses – is similarly hazardous to people, they said.