- 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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