McDonalds to label 'toxic' chips?
2002-07-04 09:26
Los Angeles - Citing a recent Swedish study showing that deep fried foods could be a cause of cancer, two California environmental groups are planning to sue McDonalds and Burger King to force them to put a toxic warning label on their servings of the deep fried potato chips, the Los Angeles Times reported on Wednesday.
The lawsuits by Earth World Watch and another group of
environmentalists and academics aim to force the world's largest
sellers of what Americans call French fries to either include the
warning or reformulate the ingredients, the report said.
The actions stem from a recent Swedish government study that
found high levels of the carcinogen acrylamide in fatty starchy
foods cooked at high temperatures, such as fries.
In one test, McDonald's French fries were found to contain 300
times the amount of acrylamide allowed by the Environmental
Protection Agency for a glass of water, the report said.
The groups have notified California's attorney general of their intent to sue under California's Proposition 65, which requires manufacturers to warn consumers of toxic chemicals in their products.
According to the report, the attorney general's office is
studying the matter and is considering filing its own lawsuit.
But a spokesperson for Burger King said the suits don't "make
sense" because the discovery of acrylamide in food is so new.
McDonalds argued that the suit was "inappropriate" and would result in a "flood" of warning labels on all baked and fried foods. - Sapa-DPA
- SAPA