Proposition 65

While stopping into a Starbucks today, I saw this sign posted above the milk and sugar station. It mentions a chemical compound that can cause cancer called Acrylamide. It says that Acrylamide is not used in anything at Starbucks but is a result of cooking. I had never heard of this before and when I looked it up, I found out some really interesting information. You can check out the link of Acrylamide(it gets kinda technical in certain areas) but here are some of the interesting points involving cooking. It was found in many cooked starchy foods such as french fries, potato chips, and bread that had been fried, baked or roasted to 120 Celsius(248 Fahrenheit). It is produce when coffee is brewed or when bread is toasted and is naturally found in black olives, prunes(prune juice), and dried pears. However, it is not produced when you boil any product or just don't heat it at all. Obviously, the biggest way to get Acrylamide is from cigarette smoking. Some researchers believe that it may be a by-product of something called The Maillard Reaction. This is a form of browning similar to caramelization. Health Canada and the FDA here in America are looking into whether this poses a threat to human health and should action be taken. As of yet, they are still doing research by testing many products. I found a list of products that the FDA have been testing and the list is pretty amazing in the fact that 95% of us eat most of these things every day! The top 4 are Postum Original Caffeine Free Instant Hot Beverage, Pringles Sweet Mesquite BBQ chips, Blue Mesa Grill Sweet Potato Chips, and Route 11 Sweet Potato Chips(sorry mom and dad!!). However, coffee is quite low to almost non-existent. It should be interesting to see where this goes in the future and what, if any, impact it will have on the restaurant community.