Acrylamide Exposure and Risks in Most Frequently Consumed Foods in a Total Diet Study

The neurotoxic and carcinogenic nature of acrylamide, coupled with the recent emphasis of the “probable carcinogenic” status of acrylamide is a cause for concern requiring further studies. The objective of this study was to determine the carcinogenic and neurotoxic risks associated with the consumption of frequently consumed foods in a Total Diet Study (TDS). From a selection of 80 frequently consumed foods, the acrylamide concentrations in the foods were purified by the QuEChERS method of extraction and purification, and the concentrations of acrylamide were determined using the HPLC. Acrylamide was detected in 82% of all the foods analyzed, and the levels ranged from 1.33×10-3 ± 1.89 to 14.39×10-3 ± 6.33 mg/g. The probabilistic approach was used to model the chronic exposures using the Monte Carlo simulation of the Palisade @Risk software. The mean, 50th and 95th percentile values for acrylamide exposures were in the range of 1.56×10-3 to 1.88×10-2, 3.21×10-4 to 5.85×10-3 and 6.16×10-3 to 8.32×10-2 mg/kg bw/day respectively. The mean and 95th percentile values for the margins of exposure (MOE) for the risk of tumorigenesis and neurotoxicity were below the thresholds, hence posing significant public health concern. Generally, the lifetime cancer risks of male consumers were higher compared to that of the female consumers. The median and 95th percentile consumers presented unacceptable risk, since their lifetime cancer risks were greater than the de minimus (10-6). The elements that imparted the most on the overall lifetime cancer risk of the consumers were the exposure duration and the concentration of acrylamide in the foods. To lower these lifetime cancer risks, mitigation studies can thus, be mounted in order to help lower the concentrations of acrylamide in the foods.