Chemical Reaction

In our world of plastic-free living and organic everything, you’d think our food and favourite products would be free of chemical compounds. Think again…

- Katherine Sanderson

So, you’ve ditched any products containing fish-damaging microbeads, it’s been months since you even looked at a plastic straw and you’ve bought a new handbag big enough for your precious travel cup. That means you’re chemicalfree – right? Not quite.

Everything we’re made of, touch, smell, taste and even breathe is a chemical. While some are natural and harmless, others are man-made, and a few even command headlines so alarming they make us want to start rolling to work in a protective, inflatable bubble. But before you search online for such a device (we checked – they’re expensive) and binning everything in your bathroom cabinet, listen up. ‘our recent obsession with everything organic has made us fearful of anything that can be seen as a chemical additive,’ says Alan Boobis, director of the Public Health england Toxicology Unit at Imperial College London. ‘But, in most cases, that fear is wholly unjustified.’ Here’s how to recognise and swerve the worst offenders in your everyday life…

Acrylamide

FOUND IN: Chargrilled and toasted foods.

WHAT IS IT?

The molecule that forms as food browns – roasted coffee, toast and potatoes – is actually a potentially carcinogenic compound (acrylamide) that’s been shown to cause cancer in rats.

SHOULD I WORRY

Not especially, no, but there are ways to reduce consumption. Avoid things that are overly chargrilled. Next, skip the frozen-chip aisle, as processed food and potatoes can be high in this chemical. But, essentially, don’t decimate your toast and you’ll be fine.