A lawsuit, brought about California’s Attorney General Bill Lockyer, has demanded warning labels on packets of French fries and potato chips about a carcinogenic (cancer-causing) chemical created during their production. The chemical, acrylamide, is formed when foods high in starch, like potato, are subjected to high temperatures.
“I know from personal experience that, while these snacks may not be a necessary part of a healthy diet, they sure taste good. But I, and all consumers, should have the information we need to make informed decisions about the food we eat,” a statement released by Lockyer said.
The lawsuit, submitted to a Los Angeles Superior Court, is seeking an injunction against sale of unlabeled fries and chips at fast-food chains like McDonald’s and Wendy's. Other snack makers like PepsiCo, which makes Frito Lays chips; Proctor & Gamble, maker of Pringle chips; Burger King and Kentucky Fried Chicken, which serve fries and potato wedges; Kettle Foods, which owns Kettle chips; and Cape Cod Potato Chips have also been named as defendants in the case.
Lockyer claims that the sale of these items without warnings is in violation of a 1986 law that makes it mandatory to apply labels to the package of items that might contain carcinogens. A Swedish study in 2002 had found that acrylamide was produced in some starchy foods when they were cooked in high heat.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said it is looking into studies that have linked acrylamide with cancer. “Acrylamide can cause cancer in laboratory animals at high doses, although it is not clear whether it causes cancer in humans at the much lower levels found in food,” it had earlier said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Proctor & Gamble defended its product. “Acrylamide is available whether those foods are prepared in a restaurant, at home or by the packaged goods industry. We stand behind, and absolutely think, our products are as safe as ever,” said Kay Puryear, a spokesperson for Procter & Gamble. Burger King, McDonald's, and the others were either unavailable or refused to comment on the issue.
However, Michele Corash, a lawyer representing some of the defendants said, “It is bound to misinform people if you have a warning on French fries but not on a potato. No one buys a potato to eat it raw. People will think if they make (chips) on their own they will not have problems.”
Lockyer’s spokesperson Teresa Schilling asserted the attorney general was not seeking to shock consumers out of eating these products. “We don't want the warning to be alarming or excessively large. We want it to be simple and effective,” she said.
