California May Require Cancer Labels on Foods...

Poststructural Pub
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Cancer label for foods is considered
State could require warnings in markets

Buying cereal, olives, potatoes, bread, almonds – even prune juice – at the grocery store soon might come with a cancer warning from the state of California.

State officials are considering a requirement that grocery stores, retailers and restaurants alert customers about acrylamide, a carcinogen created when starchy foods like potatoes and breads are baked, roasted, fried or toasted.

rest:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/05/25/MNGD2CU9RA1.DTL

Why don’t they just come up with a catch-all label:

WARNING: LIVING MAY LEAD TO DEATH!

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Sounds like 'em.

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Check it out:

Acrylamide, a synthetic polymer used for grout and in treating sewage, was placed on California’s Proposition 65 carcinogen list in 1990. Twelve years later, Swedish scientists discovered acrylamide was created when starchy foods were cooked at high temperatures.

The discovery led Rafael Metzger, a Long Beach lawyer, to sue McDonald’s and Burger King for not disclosing the presence of a carcinogen in their french fries. A stay has been in place pending the state’s action, but the judge in the case has urged the state to move faster in reaching a decision.


Lawyers.

Shakespeare had it right.

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But Coughlin said more studies were needed, noting that the Food and Drug Administration says that in high doses the chemical can cause cancer in lab rats but that it is “not clear” whether it does the same thing in much lower levels in food.

While it is conducting studies, the FDA offers consumers the following advice: “Eat a balanced diet, choosing a variety of foods that are low in trans fat and saturated fat and rich in high-fiber grains, fruits and vegetables.”


Scientists also added this advice: “and whatever you do, don’t take a job as a lab rat.”

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IR - I got some running around to do - but I’ll be back to this topic later today…

I’ve got a LOT to say about this!!!

Missy

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Looking forward to it.

:slight_smile:

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I will be too, Missy. I can’t wait to hear how insane this really is.

I used to handle acrylamide when I did lab work. It started to be labeled as hazardous, I can’t remember now what category, etc., and we took due precautions after that—not breathing in the dust when we weighed it out, wearing gloves when handling solution, washing up carefully. But we were using the pure substance and very concentrated solutions.

I am all for being careful about what chemicals we eat, but something that occurs naturally in the process of baking all bread----come on.

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J. Agric. Food Chem., 51 (16), 4782 -4787, 2003.
(publication of the American Chemical Society)

Acrylamide Formation Mechanism in Heated Foods

David V. Zyzak,* Robert A. Sanders, Marko Stojanovic, Daniel H. Tallmadge, B. Loye Eberhart, Deborah K. Ewald, David C. Gruber, Thomas R. Morsch, Melissa A. Strothers, George P. Rizzi, and Maria D. Villagran
(I think y’all can figure out who one of the authors of this article is…)

and from the MSDS:
MAY CAUSE CANCER. (The important word here is “MAY”. In this usage, this is a legal term, and it means suspected, but not confirmed. Chemicals can stay on the suspected list for many years - some chlorinated hydrocarbons have been on the suspected list for over 30 years).
Risk of cancer depends on level and duration of exposure.
Health Rating: 3
(FYI - chemicals are rated on a 0 - 4 scale, 4 being the worst).

As stated in the article:
“amino acid asparagine and a carbonyl-containing compound at typical cooking temperatures.”

This, in plain English, means that aspargine and a sugar (dextrose works extremely well) combine when a food is heated and form acrylamide. You’ll find asparagine in just about any food product that comes from a grain or vegetable source. Of course, you’ll find sugar in any of these, too. Apply heat, and you get acrylamide. Neolithic homosapien, combining a grain and heating it in some type of fire - got acrylamide.
Do you eat any type of bread or cracker product? You are taking in acrylamide. If you like dark, rye bread, you are really getting a hit of acrylamide. If you are eating asparagus made in any way except boiled, you are taking in acrylamide.
Since potatos have a lot of “free” amino acids, and 50% of these free amino acids are asparagine, you get a LOT of chance for acrylamide to form when you bake or fry potatos. Since acrylamide is water soluble, you don’t get much acrylamide when boiling potatos, unless you use the water you boiled the potatos in.

When the article that started this entire investigation first came out (a group from Sweden held a press conference before their paper was accepted) the World Health Organization called numerous emergency meetings. They are determining how much acrylamide is in the “normal” diet of many different countries.

http://www.acrylamide-food.org/


Companies are also looking at ways of lowering the acrylamide levels in finished food products. Cooking times, temperatures and pretreatments are all being researched. Unfortunately, the very mechanisms that create the “browning” in breads, etc. are the same mechanisms that create acrylamide.

Missy

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Oh Lord, that’s all we need…something else to drive food prices through the roof (as if our astronomic fuel prices here haven’t already all but doubled my grocery bill!).

Redwolf

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Will there be warnings on foods that say, “WARNING: THIS FOOD MAY CAUSE OBESITY”?

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Hey, wait a minute… they’re talking about … TOAST! :astonished:



Reminds me of an old George Carlin routine…

“Scientists have discovered that saliva causes stomach cancer!”

“However, only when swallowed in very small amounts, over a long period of time.”

:boggle:

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yep, toast, bread, crackers, cereal, potato of any kind, anything that has any type of breading on it, asparagus, coffee (although the roasted beans, not the brew)…



Missy

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I guess learning to make and use fire wasn’t such an advancement after all. :confused:

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“Study underwritten in part by the Atkins Foundation. Atkins brand low-carb diets… they’re finger-pickin’ good!”

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Oh, geez, that’s nothing. If you buy anything sold by a chemical company, California requires a special label. There’s a certain company that has a trademarked line that basically means, “This is the most analyzed bit of stuff you can possibly buy.” We’re talking it’s analyzed for all elements down to parts per billion. California requires a label that says, “Some constituents of this product are unknown.”

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Walden - low carb still has acrylamide, as long as you have grain or vegetable, and it’s baked, it’s got acrylamide.

Chas - yeah, I crack up every time I look at a bottle of MeCl2. There’s a sticker on it (and any “suspected” carcinogen) that states:

“This bottle contains a substance known to cause cancer in the state of California.”

Well, gee, since I’m in Ohio, guess I don’t have to worry about it, huh? :smiley:

And, of course, considering just HOW well the “warnings” work on both cigarettes and alcohol, one just has to wonder if Prop 65 does a darn thing…


Missy

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I can remember reading a study that proved that a certain substance taken in normal amounts over a long period would cause irreparable damage to the human body and should be avoided. It went into great detail explaining the harm it could cause to each organ in turn. Just the sort of stuff that would make you swear of it for ever. The only problem with that is that the substance in question was oxygen. I’ve had trouble trying to do without it. :wink:

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look up “dihydrogen monoxide”

here’s another, real, MSDS:

Potential Health Effects
Eye: May cause eye irritation.
Skin: May cause skin irritation.
Ingestion: Ingestion of large amounts may cause gastrointestinal irritation. Ingestion of large amounts may cause nausea and vomiting, rigidity or convulsions. Continued exposure can produce coma, dehydration, and internal organ congestion.
Inhalation: May cause respiratory tract irritation.

LD50/LC50:
Draize test, rabbit, eye: 100 mg Mild;
Draize test, rabbit, eye: 100 mg/24H Moderate;
Draize test, rabbit, eye: 10 mg Moderate;
Draize test, rabbit, skin: 50 mg/24H Mild;
Draize test, rabbit, skin: 500 mg/24H Mild;
Inhalation, rat: LC50 = >42 gm/m3/1H;
Oral, mouse: LD50 = 4 gm/kg;
Oral, rat: LD50 = 3 gm/kg;
Skin, rabbit: LD50 = >10 gm/kg;
Teratogenicity: An experimental teratogen.
Reproductive Effects: Human reproductive effects by intraplacental route: terminates pregnancy. Experimental reproductive effects


That’s the MSDS for NaCl - aka - table salt.


Missy

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I recall reading somewhere where either the State of California or a major city (SanFrancisco?) had the wool pulled right over their eyes with that one… they were all set to “list” it, and finally it was let on to them that it was.. .water.

Your tax dollars at work. :roll:

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So what do you suppose makes it cause cancer in California and not other states…? I’m so confused! :boggle: