PAACE

Vegans seek grilled meat warning
Jan 17, 2008

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A vegan group is trying to force U.S. restaurant chains to warn California consumers about a cancer-causing chemical that forms in grilled meat, using a state law designed to protect consumers from toxins in drinking water.

The state's restaurant lobby said the legal consequences of the suit are "dire" and fears a defeat could endanger consumers or force restaurants to take chicken off the menu.

Vegans are strict vegetarians who do not consume animal products of any kind, and the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, which filed the lawsuit, promotes a vegan diet as part of a healthy lifestyle.

"(The law) is being abused in a way that could mislead consumers ... to change their cooking habits and cause greater health risks. Undercooked chicken is not healthy," said Jot Condie, the California Restaurant Association's president and chief executive.

If it seems consumers have nowhere to turn in choosing a healthy chicken entree, that's exactly the point, said Dan Kinburn, attorney for the Physicians Committee.

"Every day when a parent ... cooks chicken at home for their children they are trying to be health conscious," Kinburn said. "We think if people knew there were carcinogens in grilled chicken they would not choose it as a healthy alternative."

The law at the heart of the attack on grilled chicken was approved by voters as a 1986 ballot proposition that aimed to protect drinking water against cancer-causing chemicals that leach into ground water as a result of industrial activity.

The Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 also requires businesses to notify consumers when a product contains a carcinogen on a list maintained by the state.

Continued...

http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN1725208520080118
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PCRM website:
http://www.pcrm.org/magazine/gm07winter/chicken.html

PCRM Files Lawsuit Over Carcinogens in Grilled Chicken

Most people know that fried chicken is not a healthy food, but how many realize that consuming grilled chicken can increase the risk of cancer? In independent laboratory tests commissioned by PCRM, 100 grilled chicken items from McDonalds, Burger King, Chick-fil-A, Chilis, Applebees, Outback Steakhouse, and TGI Fridays were all found to contain PhIP, one of a group of carcinogens called heterocyclic amines (HCAs).

Cancer-Causing Compound Found in Grilled Chicken at Chain RestaurantsPhIP and other HCAs are formed from the creatinine, amino acids, and sugar found in muscle tissue, and are produced by long cooking times and hot temperatures. As mutagens, HCAs can bind directly to DNA and cause mutationsthe first step in cancer development.

Californias Proposition 65 states that consumers must be warned about products that contain known carcinogens. For more than a decade, PhIP has been on the California governors list of chemicals known to cause cancer. PCRM has gone to court under Californias Proposition 65 to compel the seven restaurant chains to warn consumers about the carcinogens found in their grilled chicken.

Unfortunately, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has sided against consumer safety by writing a letter on behalf of the seven defendants. The letter argues that PCRMs lawsuit is preempted by federal labeling laws for meat and chicken, and that warning consumers about PhIP would obstruct [the USDAs Food Safety and Inspection Services] efforts to prevent foodborne illnesses because the warning would imply that cooking poultry somehow renders the poultry unsafe or unwholesome.

The seven defendants are fighting the lawsuit, hoping to be able to avoid informing customers about the cancer-causing chemicals in their products. PCRM general counsel Dan Kinburn will appear in court in the new year to argue the case.