EU Acrylamide legislation: Forget golden French Fries and crispy Bread

The European Union legislation on Acrylamide goes into effect today, April 11, 2018. With the new legislation, our french fries will be blonde and bland, our french toast pale. From now on, our  golden brown sweet corn cobs and vegetable sticks will have to be cooked in boiling plain water, our biscuits and cakes will come out of the oven half-baked. Forget all you knew about crispy and tasty bread. It is officially dangerous and harmful to your health. And so Greeks’ favorite rusks for their tomato-feta-salad. Grilled cheese, Fried Chicken and Wiener Schnitzel? They are big NO-NOs.

The EU wants us to eat bland and healthy. It is the same EU that allows glyphosate and the sales of cigarettes and alcohol. Because these latter bring revenues through the regular and extra taxes imposed on them and have a strong lobby sitting in Brussels.

But Acrylamide?

Acrylamide is a chemical substance naturally formed by a reaction between amino acids and sugars. It usually occurs when foods with a high starch content, such as potatoes, root vegetables and bread, are fried, roasted or baked at high temperatures.

Acrylamide is a carcinogen and has the potential to cause cancer in humans.

And furthermore, it is not sold as such, cannot be target of fees and taxes and brings zero revenues. Neither to EU nor to any member states. It is just a what the EU calls a “contaminant” arising through the frying and baking process. The EU can live without it. So, let’s ban it!

After having consumed tones of Belgian French fries in Brussels, the EU technocrats probably were prescribed strict diet by their physicians and thought to expand their punishment across Europe.

Officially, they claim to protect millions of people across the old continent. The new chapter in EU regulation of weird things is called “Food Safety and Acrylamide.”

 

 

Although the legislation passed last year, the EU has not yet finalized a document with practical guidelines at least for the hospitality sector.

 

“Until there is total clarity about which businesses fall under the more onerous part of the regulations, and what foods fall into scope, we unfortunately are not able to provide the industry with the much-needed guidance they require to be confident they are complying with the new regulations, the leading multimedia brand for the UK hospitality industry The Caterer noted on Wed morning.

The regulation affects, of course, the food industry and packaged food like potatoes chips and other snacks, cereals, coffee and baby food.

• Last week, California, US, passed a law ordering that coffee has to have a label for Acrylamide, warning.  Some scientists found out thought, that one person will need to drink more than 40 cups a day, for 1000 straight days straight before reaching a potentially risk concerning amount of acrylamide.

Who will safeguard if the caterers, the food industry, the restaurants, souvlaki, sausage and french fries stands of the street food market across Europe stick to the new Acrylamide legislation?

Who will protect children and adults who get their food in the kitchen of the family cray cook?

Rumors that European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker will hire thousands of  inspectors and arm them with magnifying glasses do not confirm.

Sadly, this could actually be a once in a life-time opportunity for the EU to do something useful and combat unemployment across its 27 member states.