The researchers said they issued the warning for pregnant women and nursing
mothers because fetuses and newborn babies are particularly susceptible to the
potential harmful effects of acrylamide, a possible carcinogen. The results of
the study were to be broadcast nationwide Tuesday evening on a German television
news program.
The leader of the study, Prof. Fritz Soergel of the Institute for Biomedical
and Pharmaceutical Research in Nuremberg, said that acrylamide is highly
water-soluble. Therefore, fetuses and infants are more at risk than adults
because of their generally higher body water levels. Furthermore, blood brain
barriers in fetuses and newborn infants are not full developed, meaning that
nerve-damaging acrylamide would be more likely to reach their young brains and
cause damage.
Acrylamide first received global attention in April 2002 when Swedish
researchers reported finding the chemical in fried and oven-baked foods,
especially in potato chips and French fries. The findings were at first greeted
with skepticism, but scientists in other nations have since produced similar
results.
High levels of acrylamide have been found to cause cancer in rodents. Last
September the US Food and Drug Administration announced a plan to reduce or eliminate concentrations of acrylamide
in potato and cereal products.
In Germany in the last few months, the potential health threat from
acrylamide has become a major national issue, with Soergel gaining a reputation
as an expert.
Soergel recommends that nursing mothers cease eating all potato chips, French
fries or other potatoes fried in oil at temperatures over 180 degrees centigrade
at least until the newborn baby reaches two months old. He believes pregnant
woman should limit acrylamide consumption to no more than 20 micrograms per day,
which he says would be the equivalent of about 10 grams of potato chips.
In an interview with Reuters Health, Soergel described acrylamide as a
neurotoxic agent that he believes can cause cancer in humans. Soergel said that
he and two colleagues--Prof. Rainer Weissenbacher, of the University of Munich,
and Prof. Edgar Schoemig, of the University of Cologne--conducted their study
during the past six weeks.
They used mass spectrometry to measure levels of acrylamide in the bodies of
pregnant women and in the placentas after they gave birth, and also in nursing
mothers and their breast milk.
Soergel said that tests showed anywhere from 10% to 50% of the acrylamide
levels found in pregnant women was transferred via blood through the placenta to
the fetus.
In breast milk, test showed up to 18.8 micrograms per liter of acrylamide, he
said, adding that if a newborn baby drinks slightly over half a liter per day it
would be consuming nearly 10 micrograms of acrylamide.
Soergel told Reuters that his team tested breast milk from only two nursing
mothers and from the placentas of three women after they gave birth. However, he
insisted that despite the small sample, the research team's main findings--that
acrylamide can pass from a woman to a fetus and to a newborn through breast
milk--remain valid.
"We wanted to very quickly have an idea," he said. "There is no doubt about
these findings. It is so clear. The basic results will not be contradicted."
That said, he did concede that with a larger sample in the future,
researchers will be able to more accurately determine levels of acrylamide that
can pass through the placenta or into breast milk.
Soergel emphasized that non-fried potatoes, such as baked or boiled, are
extremely healthy and should not be avoided by pregnant woman or nursing
mothers. Potatoes fried at temperatures "substantially lower" than 180 degrees
centigrade would have only very low levels of acrylamide and would therefore be
safe to eat, he said. When pressed what temperature would meet his
"substantially lower" requirements, he said 140 degrees.
"What I want to avoid is that mothers avoid potatoes altogether," he said.
