Chip-Makers Agree To Cut Carcinogen

Calif. settlement would limit acrymalide, a byproduct of cooking
By Harry Kimball,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 2, 2008 12:08 PM CDT
Chip-Makers Agree To Cut Carcinogen
Kettle Chips are also part of the settlement and will reduce the carcinogen by 87%.   (AP Photo)

Potato chip companies have agreed to settle a California lawsuit that charged them with not warning consumers about a cancer-causing chemical in their snacks, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Frito-Lay, Kettle, and the company that makes Cape Cod potato chips will lower the levels of acrylamide in their products and pay the state around $2 million.

Acrylamide is produced when potatoes are cooked at high temperatures, as in frying. To meet state guidelines and avoid a warning label, Kettle, for instance, will need to reduce levels by 87%. The chemical is used industrially to treat sewage and its presence in food was unknown until a 2002 study. The FDA has not regulated it yet but offers this advice: If you're frying potatoes at home, don't brown them too much. (Read more California stories.)

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