Burger King and other charbroilers may be singed by carcinogen suits

Unless you've been off the grid for the past few years, you know that fast food has been taken to task for it's being, gasp, horrible for one's health. Those laying the blame have included most notably writer Eric Schlosser in his scathing book that indicts Mickey D's et. al. and filmmaker Morgan Spurlock.

Now a lawsuit in California against Burger King Holdings and CKE Restaurants, which operates more than 1,000 Carl's Junior Restaurants, may spell trouble for operators that flame-broil their burgers.

The suit alleges that the companies violated the state's Proposition 65 by not alerting their customers that charbroiled hamburgers could contain polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which have been implicated as potential carcinogens. The plaintiff says that if the court rules in its favor it may sue other restaurants. If the case succeeds, the restaurants will either post warnings or install cooking devices designed to remove PAHs from food.

PAHs are created by incompletely burning organic substances. Long-term exposure to PAHs has been linked to cancer in humans. Not to make light of cancer but I'm not terribly worried about this carcinogen. Here's why: PAHs are created whenever any meat is grilled. How could something as good as a strip steak possibly be bad for you?

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