Acrylamide Lawsuit Settled by Potato Chip Giants in California

You knew potato chips and French fries could make you fat, but did you know they could cause cancer? The State of California did, and according to the San Francisco Chronicle, the prior Attorney General Bill Lockyer sued the premier manufacturers of such chips for failure to disclose a known carcinogen on the bags. At issue is acrylamide, a substance that is unique in that it is a byproduct of the frying process when starchy potatoes hit frying oil and are exposed to temperatures of 248°F and above.

The Companies Involved In Acrylamide Lawsuit

California's Attorney General Jerry Brown - a man rumored to have his eye on the State's governorship - agreed to settle the suit against PepsiCo owned Frito-Lay, Heinz Company and Kettle Foods that was filed by his predecessor in 2005. He alleged that even though their French fries and also potato chips contained acrylamide, a substance known to act as a carcinogen, the companies did not disclose this substance on the packaging in which the food was sold.

Acrylamide In Potato Chips - How, Why, And What Does It Mean To Me?

Acrylamide is a substance that in chemistry is notated as C₃H₅NO. It is noteworthy in that it is a naturally forming compound that occurs in fried foods containing high levels of starch. Somewhat surprisingly, it was actually not discovered in food until 2002! Starchy foods that are boiled do not evidence the chemical. Here is more food for thought: cigarette smoke and prune juice are laden with acrylamide!

The blow to the food industry came on the heels of a most thorough Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention study conducted in the Netherlands, the results of which proved that postmenopausal women faced a higher risk of ovarian cancer when they showed an increase in acrylamide ingestion. Conversely, breast cancer risks were not associated with acrylamide. A subsequent study in men showed that renal cell cancer risk was also heightened.

What Does The Acrylamide Lawsuit Accomplish?

Even before going to court, the companies in the acrylamide lawsuit settled with California's Attorney General. Although generally the terms of settled suits are not disclosed, in this case the parties are speaking out and California won $3 million in fines as well as the companies' commitment to greatly reduce the acrylamide contained in their food products within the next three years.

What causes pause to this consumer is the fact that the manufacturers of such fried foods have the ability to reduce the acrylamide in their products but will not do so unless threatened with a lawsuit and only after spending about three years in legal wrangling and finagling.

Sources:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/08/02/BAFE1244HA.DTL
http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/16/11/2304
http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/87/5/1428