Al-Ahram Weekly | Economy | To fry or not to fry?

		1 - 7 August 2002 Issue No. 597 Economy	Current issue Previous issue Site map
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875		Recommend this page

To fry or not to fry?
Consumers, exporters and producers of fried potato chips are worried that they might cause cancer. Mona El-Fiqi investigates

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Bag of potato chips, anyone?
Hoda Mohamed, a housewife, has ordered her children not to eat fried potato chips any longer. Like children of a great many Egyptian families that particular variety of junk-food had become part of their daily diet. Her warning came after reading an article that potato chips might cause cancer.
A recent study by the World Health Organisation (WHO) has confirmed that a potentially cancer-causing chemical is produced when potatoes are cooked in certain ways. The economic impact of this is a potentially devastating decrease in potato sales.
A scientific publication issued in May found that frying certain types of foods in hot oil leads to the formation of acrymalide, a possible carcinogen.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) have since formed an expert consultation committee to examine the evidence concerning acrymalide in food.
The WHO consultation report, issued in July, found high levels of acrymalide, which international experts classify as a "probable human carcinogen", in a wide variety of fried and baked foods.
According to the study, food in which acrymalide develops when cooked at above 120 degrees include potato chips, French fries, bread and processed cereals.
However, the report concluded that it is still not possible to determine what percentage of bodily acrymalide levels come from starch-based foods. Thus, the topic needs further research before recommendations can be made to the general public.
Experts are not recommending that people change their diet on the basis of these studies. They continue to advocate a balanced diet and a wide variety of fruit and vegetables.
People tend to react differently when reading articles related to the report. Many consumers are afraid for their health and producers of fried potatoes are concerned about the negative effect the news will have on their business.
While some consumers have stopped eating fried potatoes, others are unconcerned. Nagwa Ahmed, a housewife, said "We have all eaten fried potatoes since we were young. Nothing happens. I do not believe these reports."
Another housewife who preferred anonymity, said that the press always exaggerates when explaining facts. She won't be sure of the facts until they are confirmed.
However, sales of many fried potato products have dropped. Waleed Abdel- Mo'men, an owner of a supermarket, said that his sales fell from 50 packets of potato chips per day, to seven or eight. He has since stopped selling them.
Moreover, sales of French fries have also decreased. Ibrahim Mustafa, a waiter at a fast food restaurant, said that sales of French fries have fallen dramatically, from more than 50 orders per day, to less than 10.
Ashraf Saber, deputy chairman of the Chamber of Food Industries at the Egyptian Federation of Chambers of Commerce (EFCC), said that after the publication of the WHO report, factories producing fried potatoes have been negatively affected, but only for a few days. Saber conceded that sales soon returned to normal. "People forget such news quickly, particularly as it hasn't been confirmed," Saber added. He also said that there is often a decline in demand in summer as people consume greater quantities of soft drinks and ice-cream. "To accurately determine the impact of these reports, we have to wait until schools re-open, when demand for potato products is traditionally high," Saber added.
What about Egyptian potato exports? Ali Eisa, deputy chairman of the export division at the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and an exporter of agricultural products, said "our Egyptian potato exports haven't been affected by these reports."
Eisa said that potato export markets, mainly European countries where consumers are better protected, have not reacted to the news as they have in Egypt.
Eisa believes that it was the way in which the information was presented that made the issues unclear. "The relationship between fried potatoes and cancer has been known for a long time," he said. Indeed, Eisa stressed that it would take 20 kilos of fried potatoes per day to have an adverse impact, a physical impossibility. Eisa added that market dealers are waiting for a ministerial report on the issue to gauge its seriousness.

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