US: unhealthy potato chips heat up labeling action

The Oakland-based Environmental Law Foundation has told the California Attorney General that it plans to sue Lays, Pringles, Kettle Chips and Cape Cod to require warning labels on several of their potato chip varieties. Lawyers for the organization charge that the manufacturers do not list a cancer-causing chemical present in many brands, according to Reuters and the Los Angeles Times.

The alleged culprit is acrylamide, an industrial chemical used in plastics, pesticides and sewage treatment. It also forms during frying or baking when starchy foods like chips are processed at high temperatures.

Under a state law, Prop. 65, which was approved by California voters in 1986, companies are required to put warning labels on products containing chemicals known to cause cancer or birth defects.

The World Health Organization says that acrylamide may be responsible for up to one-third of all cancers caused by diet, as demonstrated by laboratory animal studies. Acrylamide is already on California's list of cancer-causing chemicals, but some chipmakers haven't mentioned it on their packaging.

Research has shown that chips produced by several manufacturers have unsafe levels of the chemical. One study looked at one ounce servings (11 to 20 chips) and determined that the acrylamide content was substantially more than the 0.2 micrograms per day that prompts the Prop. 65 warning.

The brands cited include Lay's Baked, Stax BBQ, KC Masterpiece, Natural Country Barbecue, and Light; KC Barbecue Masterpiece; Pringles Snack Stacks (Pizzalicious Flavor) and Sweet Mesquite BBQ; Kettle Chips Lightly Salted and Honey Dijon; and Cape Cod Robust Russet and Classic Chips.

Processed food manufacturers have reportedly asked Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for an exemption to Prop. 65 labeling for foods with carcinogens caused by heat processing. His office is expected to announce a decision by August.

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