Thanks to a recent court decision in California, potato chips and French fries just got a bit healthier and a bit safer for consumption. According to the Associated Press this morning, a lawsuit filed in 2005 by the LA district attorney’s office was settled this morning, requiring leading potato chip and French fry manufacturers to reduce the amount of acrylamide in their products.
Acrylamide is defined by e-Tutor as a chemical substance that can damage the nervous system. The compound supposedly forms when potato chips and French fries are baked or fried, and has been accused of causing cancer in laboratory animals. The Associated Press also reports that the acrylamide lawsuit initially included fast food chains McDonald’s, Wendy’s, and Burger King as well, but those suits were settled at an earlier date when the chains opted to reduce or correctly label their products.
The current lawsuit concerning acrylamide in potato chips and French fries was settled today. Heintz, Frito Lay, Kettle Foods, and Lance will collectively pay $3 million dollars and reduce the amount of acrylamide in their products, news agents are reporting this morning.
California’s laws concerning potential carcinogens are some of the strictest in the nation. California’s Proposition 65 keeps a list of substances suspected of causing cancer (carcinogens) and regulates these potential cancer agents. Many products, such as paints, produced worldwide will contain labels stating that the product contains an agent known in the state of California to cause cancer. Acrylamide and the lawsuit against potato chip and French fry manufacturers fall under Proposition 65’s umbrella. This carcinogen was added to the list in 1990.
Consumers interested in the effects of this lawsuit on their eating habits may have to wait and see what happens next. There has been some debate about what altering the process of making the potato chips and French fries in order to reduce acrylamide will do to the taste of the products. The companies have time to work out the kinks, as the San Francisco Chronicle reports that the lawsuit gives the companies three years to reduce the acrylamide levels in their products, and they can avoid adding a Proposition 65 label to their potato chips and French fries.
In the meantime, the lawsuit has certainly opened the eyes of concerned consumers, who’ll look a little more closely at their purchases in the future. Are additional foods and products going to come under scrutiny next? Consumers will have to wait and see.
Reference:
- San Francisco Chronicle; www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/08/02/BAFE1244HA.DTL
