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Chip-Makers Agree To Cut Carcinogen
Calif. settlement would limit acrymalide, a byproduct of cooking
By Harry Kimball
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Posted Aug 2, 08 12:08 PM CDT
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(Newser)
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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.