Fast Food grilled chicken – Carcinogen PhIP

photo credit: VirtualErn

I read an article about Doctors suing KFC over the carcinogen PhIP in grilled chicken and decided to look into the situation. The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine accused KFC of violating California’s Proposition 65. This law requires businesses to warn customers if they are being exposed to substances that cause cancer or birth defects.

“A PCRM scientist visited six different KFC stores, obtained two samples from each location, and sent them to an independent testing laboratory. All 12 samples were found to contain PhIP, a chemical classified as a carcinogen by the federal government, the state of California, and the International Agency for Research on Cancer. PhIP, part of a chemical family known as heterocyclic amines (HCAs), has been linked to several forms of cancer, including breast cancer, in numerous scientific studies. No safe level of ingestion has been identified. Every sample also tested positive for at least one additional type of HCA.”

““Grilled chicken can increase the risk of cancer, and KFC consumers deserve to know that this supposedly healthy product is actually just as bad for them as high-fat fried chicken,” says Neal D. Barnard, M.D., the president of Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM). “KFC should post warnings because its aggressively marketed new product harbors a chemical that increases the risk of breast cancer, prostate cancer, and other forms of this lethal disease.”

This issue is not limited to KFC, other fast food places have the same problem.

It is great that someone exposes this area.  We have covered the health problems with grilling meats at high temperatures in the past.

This study from the NIH concluded: “Our results suggest that dietary interventions targeted at lower consumption of grilled red meats may reduce prostate cancer risk via the PhIP prostate carcinogenic pathway.”

Clearly there are issues with PhIP. We would rather not get exposed to it.

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5. BBQ Grill Food Safety
6. Tyson settles consumer class-action suit over Chicken Labeling
7. Natural Dog Food – Natural Cat Food
8. Food Flu Fighters – Vitamin Benefits? – Natural Cold Care, Sambucus

Posted on October 6th, 2009
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