09/10/2017 (Agence Europe) – On Monday 9 October, the Council formally adopted a European Commission proposal to reduce the risk of consumer exposure to acrylamide in food (see EUROPE 11834). Acrylamide is a potential carcinogen formed from sugar in food heated to more than 120°C (chips, for instance). The European Commission’s text requires companies in the food sector to apply compulsory measures scaled to the size and nature of their establishment in order to reduce the presence of acrylamide. It lays down reference levels for verifying the effectiveness of reduction measures, levels that will be regularly reviewed. Now that the regulation has been adopted, the Commission is planning to begin talks on setting caps on acrylamide in food.