Author Topic: Potato chips & Cancer???  (Read 3114 times)

okey

  • Posts: 220
Potato chips & Cancer???
« on: June 18, 2005, 06:10:45 AM »
Quote
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A California consumer legal group is campaigning to require warning labels on potato chips, saying they contain a chemical known to cause cancer and state law requires the warnings.

The Environmental Law Foundation filed notices with the Golden State\'s attorney general on Thursday against Lay\'s potato chip maker PepsiCo Inc., Pringles maker Procter & Gamble Co., Cape Cod potato chip parent Lance Inc. and Kettle Chips maker Kettle Foods Inc.

The notices give the attorney general\'s office 60 days to take up the case on behalf of all Californians. If the state declines to pursue the matter, the group said in the documents that \"it intends to bring suit in the public interest\" against the companies.

Under California law, companies are required to warn consumers if their products contain known carcinogens.

The chemical in question, acrylamide, is formed when starchy foods are baked or fried at high temperatures. Acrylamide is listed by the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment as a chemical known to cause cancer.

The U.S.
Food and Drug Administration has been studying the impact of acrylamide levels in food since 2002. On its Web site, the
FDA said that, while the chemical is known to cause cancer in laboratory animals in high doses, it is \"not clear whether acrylamide causes cancer in humans at the much lower levels found in food.\"

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050617/hl_nm/food_potatochips_law_dc
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Quality is never an accident; It is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, Intelligent direction and skillful execution;
It represents the wise choice of many alternatives

okey

  • Posts: 220
Potato chips & Cancer???
« Reply #1 on: June 18, 2005, 06:12:49 AM »
This i thought was quite disturbing. I wonder how many other food items we consume often that are quite harmful the human body
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Quality is never an accident; It is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, Intelligent direction and skillful execution;
It represents the wise choice of many alternatives

Chizi

  • Posts: 66
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Potato chips & Cancer???
« Reply #2 on: June 19, 2005, 04:15:32 AM »
Has anyone ever wondered why there are higher morbidity and mortality rates from cancer in the United States than in Nigeria? I am certain it has a great deal to do with the cuisine.
A carcinogen is a chemical capable of inducing malignant changes in cells of humans and animals after prolonged or excessive exposure. Tobacco smoke for example is a carcinogen because it increases the level of free radicals in the bloodstream which can invade normal cells, cause mutations in their DNA and transform them into malignant cells. Tobacco smoke also reduces the level of antioxidants which bind to free radicals and prevent them from invading a normal cell. This reduction in antioxidants makes body cells more susceptible free-radical induced malignant changes.
A carcinogen is a carcinogen regardless of the toxicity rating. Acrilamide is not only a recognized carcinogen, but also a suspected immunotoxicant (suspected to supress the immune system and make the body more vulnerable to infections), and a suspected neurotoxicant ( any subtance that disrupts the central nervous system\'s normal functioning and triggers behavioral changes like irritabilty and confusion). For more information, see
http://www.scorecard.org/chemical-profiles/summary.tcl?edf_substance_id=79-06-1#ranking

I\'m not a fan of chips at all, but if indeed the potato chips these companies produce contain a potentially hazardous chemical like acrilamide, then there should be a warning on the food labels so consumers can be aware of the risks they\'re exposed to.
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