KFC Agrees To Post Cancer Warning
The California Attorney General’s office has reached an agreement with fast-food giant KFC Corporation. KFC was accused of failing to notify its customers that some of its food products, including french fries, contain acrylamide, a chemical identified by the state to be a cause of cancer.
Under the agreement approved by the Superior Court in Los Angeles, KFC agreed to pay the state $341,000 in civil penalties and to include cautionary statements about the chemical on posters and brochures of nutritional information available at its 450 restaurants within California. The warnings will also note that acrylamide is present in other foods, including coffee, toasted cereals, and bread.
Similar lawsuits were brought against Burger King, McDonald’s, Wendy’s Frito Lay, Proctor & Gamble, and H.J. Heinz. The action against KFC is the second acrylamide case to settle. The first was against the manufacturer of Wheatena, a breakfast cereal.
Proposition 65, approved by voters in 1986, requires businesses to warn consumers about products that expose people to substances capable of causing cancer or other health problems. The law is enforceable by civil lawsuits brought by either individuals or public officials.
Acrylamide is believed to be generated when certain foods are cooked at high temperatures, whether commercially or at home.