Advocacy group sues KFC over grilled chicken
September 23, 2009
National health advocacy group Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) has filed suit against KFC for its failure under California law to warn consumers that the chain's new grilled chicken product contains a dangerous carcinogen.
In the lawsuit filed Sept. 23 in San Francisco Superior Court, PCRM cites independent laboratory tests that show KFC's grilled chicken contains PhIP, a carcinogenic chemical that is created when some foods are grilled. As a result, the group claims KFC is in violation of California's public health law Proposition 65, which requires restaurants to post warnings with describing any carcinogenic dangers of its menu items.
According to a news release, a PCRM scientist visited six different KFC stores, obtained two samples from each location, and sent them to an independent testing laboratory. All 12 samples were found to contain PhIP, a chemical classified as a carcinogen by the federal government, the state of California and the International Agency for Research on Cancer.
PhIP, part of a chemical family known as heterocyclic amines (HCAs), has been linked to several forms of cancer, including breast cancer, in numerous scientific studies. No safe level of ingestion has been identified. Every sample also tested positive for at least one additional type of HCA.
KFC spokesman Rick Maynard said in a statement:
Kentucky Grilled Chicken meets or exceeds all federal and state regulations for food safety, including Proposition 65. Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine is a group which promotes a vegetarian agenda. The chemical referenced by PCRM is a natural byproduct of grilling chicken and many other foods, and occurs whether such foods are grilled in any restaurant or even at home.
PCRM has previously sued McDonald's, Burger King, Chick-fil-A, and four other national restaurant chains that sell grilled chicken containing PhIP. The 2008 lawsuit against those restaurant companies was dismissed based on FDA requirements that chicken must be cooked to a proper temperature in order to ensure food safety. An earlier investigation by the California Attorney General in 2006 determined that grilled chicken is exempt from Proposition 65 so no warning for PhIP in chicken is required, according to a letter from California Attorney General.
PCRM has appealed the 2008 dismissal, according to a story onkron4.com. Of the chains in the suit, Burger King chose to settle and post warning notices in its California stores.
Dr. Neal D. Barnard, president of PCRM, said the group is most concerned with KFC's promoting its grilled chicken as a healthy alternative. "KFC should post warnings because its aggressively marketed new product harbors a chemical that increases the risk of breast cancer, prostate cancer, and other forms of this lethal disease."
