KEY POINTS:
A chemical commonly found in cooked foods such as toast and chips has been linked to cancer.
A Dutch study of about 2600 women linked acrylamide to an increased risk of ovarian cancer and, for non-smokers, to cancer of the endometrium, the lining of the uterus.
Acrylamide is known to cause cancer in animals when they are fed high doses, and it is considered a potential carcinogen in humans.
It is produced in plant-based foods rich in carbohydrates and low in protein by high-temperature cooking such as roasting, baking and frying.
Potato crisps and hot chips are the source of 40 per cent of the acrylamide in the New Zealand diet.
The Food Safety Authority suggests reducing acrylamide intake by controlling consumption of fried and fatty foods and by not allowing cooking flames to come into contact with food.
It says food safety agencies are encouraging manufacturers to reduce acrylamide content in "critical foods, particularly french fries and potato chips, coffee, pastries, sweet biscuits, breads, rolls and toasts".
The European Union advises people to avoid burnt toast or golden-brown chips and recommends eating home-cooked meals, which contain much lower amounts of acrylamide than processed foods, takeaways and restaurant meals.
The Dutch study is of a type that can only prove associations, not cause-and-effect.
The Daily Telegraph in London reported the study was the first to look at the association between dietary acrylamide intake and cancer in humans.
But one of the researchers, Janneke Hogervorst, warned: "It is important that these results are corroborated and confirmed by other studies before far-reaching conclusions can be drawn."
New Zealand researchers had a mixed reaction to the study.
Professor Jim Mann, of Otago University, said it was "quite interesting".
But Christchurch School of Medicine biostatistician Dr Chris Frampton said it lacked statistical power. It had a small number of participants and the cancer effect found was relatively small.
Food Safety's principal toxicology adviser, John Reeve, said it added a little to knowledge of acrylamide.
"It adds to the same sort of background messages that it does appear there could be something else we need to look into."
