KFC Sued Over Grilled Chicken

by Sarah LeTrent, Posted Sep 24th 2009 @ 4:30PM

KFC Grilled Chicken. Photo: Erk Pod, Flickr.

KFC is getting grilled over its new chicken offering.

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) has sued Kentucky Fried Chicken over a carcinogen, PhIP, which the nutrition advocacy group says is in KFC's new grilled chicken. PhIP is a compound on California's list of carcinogens that is created when meat is grilled.

The PCRM filed the suit in San Francisco Superior Court for violating California's Proposition 65. This proposition mandates that businesses must warn customers if there are carcinogens in their products.

"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," said Neal D. Barnard, M.D., the president of PCRM, on the group's Web site. "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."

But KFC says the chemical poses no health risk.

"The chemical referenced by PCRM is a natural byproduct of grilling chicken and many other foods, and occurs whether such foods are grilled in any restaurant or even at home," KFC spokesman Rick Maynard said in a statement.

Maynard cited the California Attorney General, who said in 2006: "It is clear that PhIP created by cooking chicken would be deemed to pose no significant risk, and would not require a warning."

This isn't the first time PCRM has gone after fast food giants. The organization made the same PhIP claim last year in a suit against, among others, Burger King, Chick-Fil-A and McDonald's. Burger King ended up being the only chain that settled with PCRM -- it now posts warning signs in its California outposts about the dangers of PhIP. The lawsuit was later dismissed.

[Via Nation's Restaurant News]

Do you like KFC's grilled chicken?
Love it!	801 (30.4%)
Hate it!	306 (11.6%)
Haven't tried it!	1044 (39.6%)
Sort of -- but I prefer it fried!	485 (18.4%)

Filed Under: Fast Food
Tags: carcinogens, grill, kfc, kfc grilled chicken, KfcGrilledChicken, pcrm

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

9-25-2009 @8:20PM Christina Zemp said... Listen people, my husband has cancer...Do not be next. Get hold of some organic natural whole foods and make that your MAIN diet. Our nation is sick because of all these hidden ingredients and pollution. Take care of US.

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9-25-2009 @9:05PM djetaugh said... I tried the chicken and it tasted ok, but I got a reaction similar to what I get when exposed to sulfites. When I looked the ingredients up on line, sulfites weren't mentioned. Something made it hard for me to breathe, though.
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9-25-2009 @9:24PM Blue Dog said... The food police are alive and well. Feed them some chicken.
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9-25-2009 @10:34PM Eddie said... OMG, GIVE ME A FREAKIN BREAK. YOU MORONIC IMBECILES HAVE NOTHING BETTER TO COMPLAIN ABOUT THAN GRILLED CHICKEN. YOU PEOPLE ARE TOTAL IDIOTS. THERE IS NOT ONE DAMN THING WRONG WITH GRILLED CHICKEN OTHER THAN GONADS LIKE YOU WANT TO TRY AND BRAIN WASH A FEW OTHER IMBECILES THAT WILL BELIEVE YOU INTO EATING THE FATTENING DEEP FRIED VERSION OF CHICKEN. GET A FREAKING LIFE AND SHUT THE HELL UP
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9-26-2009 @12:04AM angel said... Last time I checked....
EVERY SINGLE THING causes cancer in California.
Idiots
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9-26-2009 @12:13AM jay said... Retarded ( the heck with PC and you bye the way Christina Zemp. ) god bless your hubby but your a cry baby i see.
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9-26-2009 @12:42AM kissmaniac72 said... i thought that carcenogens were released during CHARCOAL grilling , I don't think KFC grills their chicken that way .
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9-26-2009 @1:12AM Bobby said... If California is against, I'm for it.
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9-26-2009 @1:29AM alysse said... You have it right, it is grilling with charcoal not gas that poses the risk
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9-26-2009 @3:33AM hawksldy said... i work at kfc in ohio , the ''grilled'' chicken isn't even grilled . it's made in a pressure cooker on racks that leave the grill marks on the skin
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9-26-2009 @5:18AM Andrew said... Christina, that is all well and good.

But are you going to pay for it? I sure can't.
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9-26-2009 @5:59AM Tony said... KFC Rocks. Its awesome food and I am a Man. I will eat what I want and all the Liberal Trash on the earth will not stop me from ejoying a good meal. I dont feel bad and I Love my KFC.
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9-26-2009 @6:23AM John F.C. Taylor said... When I saw this headline, I thought it'd be about something that Kentucky Fried Chicken was adding to the meat while cooking. To sue them over something that happens regardless of precautions taken is being just too politically correct. Some one said food police. I have to disagree there. Food police isn't strong enough. Call them what they really are - food nazis.
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9-26-2009 @7:13AM Jacques said... Read this, and pay special attention to what it say in the last few paragraphs.

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/heterocyclic-amines

"One study has evaluated the content of HCAs in fast food restaurants. After evaluating five kinds of meat products from various fast food restaurant chains, the study concluded that there were low levels of HCAs found in fast food meat products due to factors such as cooking temperature and time"

And this is from the National Cancer Institute, so lets get some facts straight before we start a panic.
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9-27-2009 @6:57PM Dylan said... Christina Zemp: Organic chicken becomes just as carcinogenic as non-organic when grilled. As for sickness... I think over-eating, under-exercising, and generic "2000"+ lifestyle is also to blame.

I wonder what they're planning to do with the cash, if they're successful. Hopefully, as well-meaning businessmen, they'll be donating it all to cancer research.
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9-30-2009 @6:28PM stanton said... I did try it and loved it, BUT, I'll never go back to KFC!!! Why?, you ask. It's easy. Remember those coupons for a free two piece meal. They gave our family four coupons via email -- took some three hours to get them printed and took half of our ink cartiage because it would allow fast draft printing. Then they never honored the coupons. Eventually they had us fill-out forms to get the coupons replaced with a new coupon. The forms required our full names (including the minor kids), address, email address and telephone number. Result --- we stil never received our free meal. We did, thanks to KFC get on every dumb*ss's junk mail list and telemarketing calls for surveys about KFC. We finally had our number changed four months later and are changing our email address. GIVE ME A BREAK KFC -- it was an advertisement stunt that I hope does cost you millions of customers.
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