Air frying food is not that much healthier an option when used to cook French fries, the Consumer Council in Hong Kong warned on Feb. 17, 2021, according to South China Morning Post.

The watchdog warned that food cooked in air fryers have the potential to create the same potentially cancer-causing compounds as more traditional methods, such as deep frying in oil.

Cancer-causing carcinogen

The watchdog tested 12 air fryers by frying frozen thin French fries.

Air frying food as a cooking method is generally healthier than deep frying given that it uses less oil.

However, results showed that French fries cooked using half of the tested air fryer appliances contained high levels of acrylamide, which is a “probably carcinogenic” substance that is naturally occurring.

Acrylamide is produced when high temperatures are reached while frying certain types of foods, such as potatoes.

Chairwoman of the council’s research and testing committee, Nora Tam Fung-yee said: “Air frying is a kind of roasting. It’s still not very healthy because it may create carcinogenic compounds like acrylamide, particularly when you air fry thin French fries at a high temperature or for a long time.”

“You should not eat air-fried food very often, and also watch the size of servings carefully.”

Latest results

The latest results out of Hong Kong appear to contradict a 2015 study published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Food Science.

It was reported in the journal previously that air frying French fries appeared to decrease the formation of acrylamide significantly.

The latest tests out of Hong Kong showed that air frying French fries led to levels of acrylamide still well in excess of EU benchmarks of 500 micrograms per kg.

One air fryer produced 13 times the EU benchmark at 7,038 micrograms per kg.

This amount of acrylamide produced far exceeded the second-highest amount produced at 1,475 micrograms per kg.

Possible to reduce carcinogen

Researchers found ways to cut down the amount of acrylamide produced.

They lowered the temperature or shortened the frying time, which led to the amount of acrylamide to drop to a level that was within EU standards.

However, the main challenge was cooking French fries thoroughly and evenly using various models of air fryers tested.

This was so as cooking spring rolls and chicken drumsticks performed as expected, while French fries turned out cooked unevenly or not thoroughly enough.

The implication of such patchy performance was for consumers to turn up the heat and extend cooking times to zing the food completely, to the likely detriment of one's health.

Time and heat depends on food cooked

SCMP also reported that manufacturers of air fryers and the watchdog quibbled over the cooking times and the temperatures used.

Air fryer manufacturers recommended lowering the temperature and shortening the cooking time to remain within safe limits, and said that instructions for higher temperature and longer cooking time was for cooking thicker potato wedges.