Submission at the Workshop on Risk Assessment in Regulatory Policy Analysis (RIA), Session 16, Mexico, 9-11 June 2014. Further information is available at http://www.oecd.org/gov/regulatory-policy/

1. Risk
Perception
and
Public
Health:
The
Case
of
Acrylamide
in
Food
In
April
of
2003,
researchers
at
Stockholm
University
announced
in
a
press
conference
that
they
had
found
acrylamide
in
a
range
of
cooked
foods.
Acrylamide
has
long
been
known
a
human
neurotoxin
and
has
concerns
about
carcinogenicity
based
on
tests
in
animals.
The
Swedish
researchers
suggested
the
levels
of
acrylamide
they
had
detected
in
food
could
pose
risks
to
ordinary
consumers
in
Sweden
and
elsewhere.
The
research
and
press
coverage
received
wide
attention
around
the
world.
National
governments
and
international
NGOs
quickly
organized
to
evaluate
the
claim
of
acrylamide’s
presence
in
food
and
the
potential
risks
to
consumers.
In
just
three
weeks
the
World
Health
Organization
(WHO)
announced
that
it
would
hold
an
urgent
expert
consultation
on
acrylamide
because
of
the
Swedish
announcement.
The
governments
of
Norway,
the
Netherlands,
the
USA
and
others
began
risk
assessments.
It
was
found
that
acrylamide
forms
naturally
from
a
chemical
reaction
that
takes
place
between
amino
acids
from
proteins
and
carbohydrates
present
in
foods.
This
reaction
occurs
when
food
is
heated
above
about
120º
C.
Though
originally
found
in
“junk
foods”
like
potato
chips
(crisps)
and
french
fries,
later
testing
found
detectable
levels
of
acrylamide
in
a
very
wide
range
of
foods
including
breads,
cereals,
cookies,
coffee
and
even
baby
foods.
Though
diets
vary
around
the
world
most
risk
assessments
found
an
average
daily
intake
of
acrylamide
from
food
at
about
0.50
µg/kg/day.
Risk
assessments
suggested
that
there
was
little
concern
for
noncancer
effects,
specifically
neurotoxicity,
at
these
levels.
However,
using
cancer
slope
factors
from
either
the
US
EPA
or
the
WHO,
estimates
of
excess
cancer
risk
due
to
acrylamide
exposure
are
quite
high
(approximately
1
x
10-­‐3
(one
in
a
thousand
excess
cancer
risk)).
This
level,
for
example,
is
1000
times
higher
than
what
US
EPA
usually
considers
an
“acceptable”
level
of
excess
cancer
risk.
To
this
point,
no
government
has
acted
to
regulate
levels
of
acrylamide
in
food.
There
is
virtually
no
public
awareness
of
this
risk
or
demand
for
action.
Although
arguably
the
largest
chemical
cancer
risk
in
the
food
supply
there
is
apparently
little
concern.
US
FDA
updated
its
acrylamide
information
page
in
2013
and
but
WHO
has
not
done
so
since
2007.
Based
on
your
knowledge
of
risk
perception:
• Did
you
know
of
the
presence
of
acrylamide
in
food?
• What
factors
could
explain
the
lack
of
public
concern
about
acrylamide
in
food?
• From
a
risk-­‐based
public
health
decision
making
perspective,
what
would
be
an
appropriate
approach
to
acrylamide
in
food?
• How
does,
and
how
should,
public
perception
influence
risk-­‐based
regulation?