Breakfast cereals are a common staple for families, especially among children and young people. Because they are consumed regularly, any small amounts of food contaminants they contain may build up over time. One such contaminant is acrylamide, a chemical that can form in foods that are baked, roasted, or fried at high temperatures. 

As these range from coffee, bread, meat, chips, crackers, to other baked goods, said Dr. Hussein F. Hassan, professor of Food Science and Technology at the School of Arts and Sciences (SoAS) and co-author of the study, the concern does not arise from a single product, but from repeated exposure across foods cooked at high heat, where naturally occurring sugars and amino acids interact. 

“Dietary exposure, carcinogenic and neurotoxic risk assessment of acrylamide in breakfast cereals marketed in Lebanon and the UAE,” published in Applied Food Research, and led by Dr. Robin Taleb, associate professor of Chemistry at SoAS, along with Dr. Hassan, Dr. Hani Dimassi, professor and chair of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the LAU School of Pharmacy, Dr. Areej Merhi, a part-time faculty at SoAS, Senior Instructor of Chemistry Ghada Naous, and chemistry student Clara Akoury, provides much-needed regional data on a food category that has received limited attention in Arab populations. The study was conducted in collaboration with Abu Dhabi University and Balamand University.

“Despite growing global attention to acrylamide,” remarked Dr. Merhi, “there simply wasn’t region-specific information connecting breakfast cereal consumption to dietary exposure and health risk in Arab populations.” Furthermore, breakfast cereals are among the processed food categories identified by the European Commission as having some of the highest average acrylamide levels, making the lack of regional data particularly significant, he added. 

The researchers investigated the level of acrylamide in breakfast cereals sold in Lebanon and the UAE, and the health risks this could pose. They screened the five largest retail markets in both countries, collected 21 cereal products from Lebanon and 76 from the UAE. To estimate the amount of cereal that people consume, 845 participants were asked to complete a food frequency questionnaire. 

Acrylamide was detected in all cereal samples. Average levels reached around 526 micrograms per kilogram in Lebanon and around 573 micrograms per kilogram in the UAE, more than twice the European level of 300 micrograms per kilogram.

The estimated daily exposure from cereals was found to be 0.39 micrograms per kilogram of body weight per day in Lebanon and 0.53 in the UAE, about 25 percent of the maximum tolerable daily intake indicated by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Upon inspecting individual products, the researchers found that 29 percent of Lebanese samples and 35 percent of UAE samples surpassed their market average. One product sold in the UAE was associated with an estimated exposure of 2.25 micrograms per kilogram of body weight per day. 

The risk picture was more nuanced. Based on the US Environmental Protection Agency neurotoxicity reference values, average consumers in both countries were not considered to be at risk of neurotoxicity.

For cancer risk, some assessments suggested that the average exposure exceeded the safety thresholds set by the Norwegian Food Safety Authority and the WHO. However, using the margin of exposure approach applied by the Joint Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), average consumers were classified as low concern, while high consumers or consumers of maximum-level products could face potential concern. 

The study also found that the country of origin—with developing countries producing products with higher acrylamide content than developed countries—and chocolate content had significant effects on acrylamide levels, whereas the wholegrain content, product shape, season, storage time before analysis, and nuts had less significant effects. 

Comparing concentrations by country of origin, noted Dr. Dimassi, presented a challenge “as the large number of countries resulted in small sample sizes per category, requiring careful selection of statistical methods to ensure valid comparisons.”

To reduce acrylamide levels, stricter regulatory standards should be applied. Manufacturers should monitor processing temperatures and operate within product-specific temperature ranges that minimize acrylamide formation, as the optimal range differs across food categories, said Dr. Taleb. 

At the same time, consumers should opt for plain, non-flavored cereals over chocolate- or honey-coated ones, which can contain about 1.5 times more acrylamide, and limit the consumption of products topped with roasted nuts, advised Dr. Hassan. More broadly, he recommended diversifying one’s diet rather than relying heavily on one product category, given that exposure accumulates across cereals, coffee, bread, chips, and other thermally processed foods.

Looking ahead, the research team is working to move beyond food monitoring and examine how acrylamide exposure may relate to human health outcomes.

“We are currently working on securing an internal grant so we can conduct a correlation study between acrylamide levels in humans, measured through blood and urine samples, and certain diseases such as Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD),” explained Dr. Taleb.

The planned study will bring together researchers from departments of chemistry, nutrition, and the school of medicine, and include both CKD patients and healthy participants.  

To browse more scholarly output by the LAU community, visit our open-access digital archive, the Lebanese American University Repository (LAUR).