US Fast Food
Chains Sued Over
Carcinogenic Chicken
By Jitendra Joshi
9-29-6 - WASHINGTON (AFP) - A US doctors' group sued seven leading fast-food chains including McDonald's and Burger King over their use of a "dangerous carcinogenic" in grilled chicken.
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- The Washington-based Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) filed suit in California "to compel the restaurants to warn unsuspecting consumers" through in-store posters
and menu messages.
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- The group said every sample of grilled chicken products from the seven national chains "tested positive for a dangerous carcinogenic compound called PhIP" during analysis at an independent laboratory.
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- PhIP is one of a group of carcinogenic compounds called heterocyclic amines (HCAs) that are found in grilled meats. In 2005, the US government officially added HCAs to its list of cancer-causing agents, the doctors' group said.
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- "Grilled chicken can cause cancer, and consumers deserve to know that this supposedly healthy product is actually just as bad for them as high-fat fried chicken," PCRM president Neal Barnard said
in a statement.
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- "Even a grilled chicken salad increases the risk of breast cancer, prostate cancer and other forms of this lethal disease," he said.
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- Aside from McDonald's and Burger King, the chains named in the lawsuit were Chick-fil-A, Chili's, Applebee's, Outback Steakhouse and TGI Friday's.
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- The California Restaurant Association, which represents the major chains in the richest US state, dismissed the doctors' lawsuit as groundless and politically motivated.
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- "The PCRM are anti-meat advocates who want to limit consumer
choice and limit access to healthy dining options, which grilled chicken most definitely is," association spokeswoman Jordan Traverso told AFP.
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- "There's no evidence that the small amount of PhIP that comes out from cooked grilled chicken poses a health risk to humans," she said, stressing that undercooked chicken was far more dangerous.
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- But Mark Kennedy, staff attorney with the PCRM, said the restaurants had been serially flouting a 1986 California law that requires them to give a "clear and reasonable warning" about any carcinogens in their food.
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- He noted that the law, dubbed Proposition 65, carries a fine of 2,500 dollars per violation
per day.
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- But Kennedy added: "We're not seeking to punish these restaurants. We just want them to obey the law.
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- "If at any time these restaurants were to come to us and say we'll post these warnings, we'd be happy to drop the lawsuit."
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- McDonald's has found itself on the legal frontlines of late.
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- This year, it has been sued for failing to advertise the presence in its French fries of dairy and gluten products, which can trigger a severe reaction in some allergy sufferers.
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- Last year, a federal judge allowed an action to proceed against McDonald's brought by plaintiffs who accuse the burger giant of making them obese.
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- In 2004, the House of Representatives passed the so-called "Cheeseburger Bill" to ban "frivolous" lawsuits by obesity sufferers against the fast-food industry. But the measure has not received a vote in the Senate.
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- In Thursday's stock market trade, shares in McDonald's fell 0.58 percent to 39.59 dollars. Burger King Holdings was unchanged at 15.90 dollars.
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