SCIENTISTS working in York are behind the discovery that a potentially deadly chemical lurks in a huge range of cooked and processed foods.

Experts at the University of York found "significant levels" of the substance acrylamide in basic foodstuffs such as potatoes, crisps, crispbreads and breakfast cereals.

The chemical, used in the paper-making industry and as an additive in water treatment, has been linked to different types of cancer as well as to nerve damage and infertility.

Central Science Laboratory researchers fear that the chemical is naturally formed in foods when they are fried or baked. It may also occur in roasted, grilled and barbecued food, including meat.

The Food Standards Agency, which commissioned the tests, warned that the chemical should not be present in foods, or, if it could not be removed, it should only be present at the lowest levels.

But the agency said it was too early to advise people to change their diets or the way they prepared food, stressing that only diets rich in fruit and vegetables were known to protect against some forms of cancer.

Experts found 310 parts per billion of acrylamide in a supermarket's potatoes after they were chipped and fried. Raw, the level was less than ten parts per billion.

Overcooking chips increased the levels, but boiling did not appear to have the same effect.

Food industry watchdogs have so far been unable to define a safe level of consumption or offer any advice to people on how to consume less of the cancer-causing chemical.

Updated: 11:57 Monday, May 20, 2002