How/why does acrylamide form when food is cooked at high temperatures?
There is currently little information about, and poor understanding of, how acrylamide is formed in foods. It appears to be produced naturally in some foods that have been cooked or processed at high temperature and the levels appear to increase with the duration of heating. The highest levels found so far were in starchy foods (potato and cereal products). Further research is needed to explain why acrylamide forms in food as well as the conditions that promote or reduce its presence in food.
