EPA Draft Regulation on Acrylamide

Tim Hammerich

News Reporter

The California EPA oversees Prop 65, which passed as a ballot initiative in 1986 to warn residents about contaminants in drinking water. Since that time the regulations have grown to encompass any chemical that could be carcinogenic.

Affecting food and agriculture, the EPA recently came out with a draft regulation on acrylamide. This is one to pay attention to says Agricultural Council of California President Emily Rooney.

Rooney… “Acrylamide is a byproduct of cooking. It's in roasted/baked products, some juice products, you know, a lot of foods that have been concentrated one way or another. And they've created some safe Harbor levels for acrylamide. So this is very important if you were in the nut industry and the juice industry and breads or other baked goods. Those folks really need to be either reaching out to us at Ag Council to learn more about the regulation or the California Environmental Protection Agency to weigh in on, on whether or not those safe harbor levels work for you. But again, this is dealing with acrylamide and some positive movement in this regulation, as it relates to Prop 65.”

There is an open public comment period happening right now until the first part of October. Make sure to reach out to inquire how this acrylamide regulation might impact your industry.