Yes, burnt food, especially starchy foods like potatoes and bread, contains acrylamide because it forms when these foods are cooked at high temperatures (above 120°C) through methods like frying, baking, or toasting, creating a brown or blackened surface. While animal studies link high doses to cancer, human studies haven't definitively proven this, but health guidelines recommend cooking these foods to a golden yellow, not brown, to reduce intake.
Acrylamide is also in foods such as biscuits, cereal and coffee. Starchy food that has been 'browned' or burnt has more acrylamide in it than when it's cooked to a lighter colour. Acrylamide was first used to make plastics, and it is found in cigarette smoke.
This is in part down to one particular molecule that forms when food is cooked at high temperatures, known as acrylamide. But while the chemical is a known potential toxin and carcinogen in its industrial form, the link between consuming it in food and developing cancer is much less clear.
Grilling meats — including beef, pork, fish or poultry — at high temperatures results in the formation of chemicals called heterocyclic amines (HCAs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).
Although studies are reporting that cooking potatoes with new cooking equipment, such as an air fryer, may be a new opportunity to reduce acrylamide exposure (3, 17, 28, 29), the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) reports that hot air fryers produce 30–40% more acrylamide than conventional deep fryers (30).
Deep-fry potato products, such as chips and French fries to a golden yellow, or lighter colour. The oil temperature for cooking should ideally be below 175⁰C. Cooking to a golden yellow, or lighter colour, and deep-frying at lower temperatures will keep acrylamide levels low.
People are getting rid of air fryers due to small basket sizes limiting family meals, issues with peeling non-stick coatings, difficulty cleaning, safety concerns like melting components, the perception they're just small ovens, limitations on certain foods (like wet batters), and sometimes switching to cheaper, more efficient appliances like halogen ovens. Many find they outgrow basic models, leading to batch cooking, and eventually replace them with larger or different appliances.
Fried potato products (including French fries, croquettes and roasted potatoes) and coffee/coffee substitutes are the most important dietary source of acrylamide for adults, followed by soft bread, biscuits, crackers and crisp breads.
While the exact risks are still debated, “it's reasonable to minimize the consumption of burnt or overcooked foods as a precautionary measure,” says Vanessa Rissetto, RDN, CEO and cofounder of Culina Health.
Another effective method is microwaving starchy foods like potatoes before frying or baking, which has been shown to reduce acrylamide formation by up to 40%. Choosing the right cooking method can also help. Steaming and boiling do not produce acrylamide at all, making them great alternatives to frying or baking.
The EU has created a much stricter benchmark for safe levels of acrylamide in food (at least related to the growth of tumors) at 0.17 µg/day per kilogram of body weight. Doing the math, a person weighing 154 lbs (70 kg) could safely consume 26 µg of acrylamide each day.
The evidence so far suggests that air frying is healthier than deep-frying, but it's not necessarily healthier than pan frying or baking in an oven. What really matters is your overall dietary pattern and the quality of the food you're eating.
Acrylamide is found in baked goods, fried foods, and coffee. In the case of coffee, roasting the beans at high temperatures causes the asparagine present to react with sugars, forming acrylamide. The process of making instant coffee concentrates acrylamide even further.
Cooking with water (such as simmering, steaming and boiling) will not reach a temperature above 120°C and acrylamide is not formed during these cooking methods. Using microwave oven will also reduce acrylamide formation.
Nervous system effects such as muscle weakness, numbness in hands and feet, sweating, unsteadiness, and clumsiness were reported in some acrylamide workers. However, most people are not exposed to acrylamide levels high enough to cause these effects.
Cooking meat at high temperature creates carcinogens
The two types of carcinogens are heterocyclic amines – related to pan-searing – and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which come from smoke. Grilling or barbequing will create both these carcinogens.
It's only when the food surface is charred or burned that the levels of acrylamide start to take off and exceed safe levels that there is any risk. What does that mean for air-fryer users? As long as you follow the manufacturer's recommendation and don't burn your food, you have absolutely nothing to worry about!
Some potentially probiotic strains of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and yeast that inhabit the digestive tract of humans are known to detoxify xenobiotics, including acrylamide (AA).
The study didn't find any strong evidence between eating acrylamide and risk of these cancers. Overall, studies on acrylamide and cancer in humans show that the amounts of acrylamide we consume probably doesn't increase the risk of cancer significantly.
Air Fryers Reduce Taste Quality
Out of the top three reasons restaurants don't use air fryers, the taste is the leading cause. It has numerous benefits and can cook food efficiently. However, the taste can be subpar compared to other cooking methods available at the commercial level.
The "air fryer rule of 25" is a handy guideline for converting oven recipes: reduce the oven temperature by 25°F (or 10-20°C) and decrease the cooking time by about 20-25%, checking for doneness earlier. This rule works because air fryers cook faster and more intensely than conventional ovens, circulating hot air efficiently to crisp food quickly, so you often need less time and slightly lower heat.
Foodies are switching to healthier halogen ovens that are still small enough to sit on a kitchen worktop but have far cheaper running costs. This £29.89 Daewoo model on Amazon costs as little as 11p to run per 20-minute meal as shoppers who 'don't want to spend money on Ninja' pick it.
The reasoning behind the old guidance lay around concerns over the possible formation of additional sugars when potatoes are kept in the fridge – sugars that can then convert into acrylamide when they're fried, roasted or baked.
Bread often contains what may be considered to be low amounts of acrylamide. However, due to its high consumption rate, its contribution to dietary exposure is still considerable. EFSA estimate that baked products may contribute between 20% and 60% of acrylamide exposure in the European diet (EFSA, 2011).