Weird Science

It seems fitting that on the 20th anniversary of the Alar apple scare, that we look at several current instances of purported killer foods question their merit.

For those of you too young to remember, as my favorite group of skeptics, the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH) put it in a recent press release commemorating the event and its release of a new publication, “The Great Apple Scare: Alar 20 Years Later”: “a combination of environmentalists, public interest lawyers, publicists, and members of the news media foisted a bogus health scare on the American public—the fear that apples being sprayed with Alar were exposing children to a cancer-causing chemical.” Memories of Meryl Streep wringing her hands over the tragic consequences of what apparently would be the result of consuming approximately 5,000 gallons of apple juice per day still moves me—to laughter. However, the apple growers who lost an estimated $100 million probably don’t see the humor.

Which leads me to scratch my head about two research items reported on in early March: The study relating beta-carotene consumption in cigarette smokers to cancer appears to be flawed, and acrylamide might cause heart disease—if it’s eaten in the form of 160 grams of potato chips a day.

In the former, a German scientist claims research widely publicized that concluded smokers who supplemented their diets with beta-carotene and other carotenoids had a greater chance of lung cancer was based on “invalid methodology, questionable statistical evaluations, and speculative explanations” as one news report said.

The “chemical” acrylamide forms naturally when heating foods that contain asparagine and reducing sugars. Animal studies have linked acrylamide and cancer, but most epidemiological studies have not. (One study does indicate a potential association between reproductive cancers in postmenopausal women.) The new study observed increases in acrylamide-hemoglobin adducts (acrylamide biomarkers) in all the study subjects, as well as increases in compounds with strong links to inflammation, a condition linked to heart disease. Without the actual study at hand, that sounds like there could be missing links—most notably anything else consumed in the daily 5 ½ servings of chips.

Crying “bad science” is often used to disparage opposing theories. And thoroughly vetting any science is often an onerous task, not for the fainthearted—or the scientifically uneducated. So while the industry could be directing its efforts toward clear and present dangers, like Salmonella-tainted food, hypotheses make headlines and influence policy without proof. I’m no expert, but that just sounds weird to me.

Originally published in the April 2009 issue of Food Product Design magazine.

   —Lynn A. Kuntz