On August 30, 2005, potato chips were taken to court in California, USA, for being alleged to contain a carcinogenic substance.
While thinner and crispier chips are tastier, they may also mean a higher cancer risk. According to a report by the Ming Pao in Hong Kong, tests conducted last year by the Hong Kong Consumer Council and the Centre for Food Safety found that many potato chips on the market contained high levels of another carcinogen, "acrylamide," with "Pringles" containing 990 micrograms of acrylamide per kilogram, ranking second highest among the tested chips.
The Hong Kong Consumer Council explained that foods containing carbohydrates, when processed at high temperatures, are prone to burning, drying out, and forming acrylamide, with potato products being particularly severe. Furthermore, as acrylamide mainly forms on the surface of food, thinner and crispier potato chips, with their low moisture content and large surface area, have higher levels of acrylamide.[美食中国]
However, a doctor from the Hong Kong Centre for Food Safety stated on that day that the acrylamide levels in potato chips in the 2006 tests were already lower than the results of similar tests in 2003, and citizens with normal eating habits need not be overly concerned.
Data from the Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department shows that in the first 9 months of this year alone, Hong Kong imported as much as 288 tons of potato chips and potato pellets.