Originally published September 12 2005
California Attorney General wants cancer warning on chips and fries
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
In a lawsuit against nine fast food chains and snack-food companies, California's attorney general is asking that snack chips and french fries come with a warning label to notify the consumer the products may contain the cancer-causing chemical acrylamide.
Potato chips and french fries could soon come with a warning label if the state's top attorney prevails in a lawsuit filed Friday against nine fast food chains and snack-food makers.
Attorney General Bill Lockyer asked for a court order requiring McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, Frito Lay and other companies to warn consumers that their fries and chips may contain acrylamide, a chemical the state says causes cancer.
"I know from personal experience that, while these snacks may not be a necessary part of a healthy diet, they sure taste good."
She said it was counterproductive for the state to sue the companies when other California regulators are currently setting standards for the chemical under Proposition 65, which requires companies to notify the public about potentially dangerous toxins in food.
Acrylamide, a byproduct of chemicals and high heat, has been found at low levels in several foods.
The state agency setting standards for the chemical, the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, is considering two potential approaches, spokesman Allan Hirsch said.
The agency might set regulations providing more specifics about when warnings would be required.
Or it might exempt businesses from placing warning labels on their foods if they agree to reduce the presence of the chemical to the lowest feasible level, he said.
Spokespersons for several defendants based in the Midwest or East did not return calls for comment Friday.
Teresa Schilling, a spokeswoman for Lockyer, said that if the lawsuit was successful, the office would want to sit down with the defendants to decide how large the warning labels would be and where they would appear on packaging.
"We don't want the warning to be alarming or excessively large," she said.
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