FOOD SAFETY is the concern of academia as well as industry.
There is a responsibility to ensure that consumers are supplied with food that is safe and free from toxic compounds.
It is well-known that citizens of Third World countries are much more at risk from food poisoning than those in developed countries. This is due to the lack of scientific infrastructure in many Third World countries to monitor food-processing techniques.
The Pesticide Research Laboratory established in 1992 in the Chemistry Department of the University of the West Indies (UWI) has been engaged in carrying out research on toxic chemicals, specifically agricultural chemicals, in Jamaica's ecosystem.
CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
Since then, the laboratory has been gradually equipped with sophisticated scientific instruments to analyse residual toxic chemicals in various foods.
Our research on a very complex system, acrylamide in food, is a recent attempt to analyse this toxic chemical, which occurs in our daily food.
A recent discovery of acrylamide in fried and oven-baked foods by the Swedish National Food Administration and scientists at Stockholm University prompted the UWI to investigate the levels and sources of acrylamide in Jamaican foods.
So far, acrylamide at the level of parts per billion to parts per million has been found in foods like potato chips, French fries and cereals etc. in Sweden and in Canada.
The objective of the research has been to determine the level of acrylamide in foods that are cooked or baked at high temperatures.
It is to be noted that acrylamide has not been found in food sources or ingredients. It is only formed by chemical reaction at high temperature.
DIETARY CHOICES
Jamaicans, in general, consume large quantities of fried foods e.g. French fries, fried dumplings, fried fish, potato and banana chips etc.
Our dietary choices and cooking methods may be exposing us to high levels of acrylamide.
Acrylamide is carcinogenic in laboratory animals and is being classified as a potential human carcinogen.
The prevalence of cancer and heart diseases in Jamaica puts a high priority on research work that will give us an indication of their sources.
Research into acrylamide is a foremost challenge to the analytical and food chemists in the world, and we are in the forefront of this research.
