LOS ANGELES Seven of the nation’s largest restaurant chains operating in California are again the target of a lawsuit by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, which is reportedly seeking warnings about possible cancer-causing chemicals in grilled chicken.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court, targets restaurant operators McDonald’s Corp; Burger King Corp.; Carlson Restaurants Worldwide Inc.; Applebee’s International; Chick-fil-A; Brinker International; and OSI Restaurant Partners. Washington, D.C.-based PCRM, a group that promotes vegetarianism, filed a similar lawsuit in 2006 that was dismissed.
PCRM contends that the operators failed to warn customers about the risk of consuming the carcinogen PhIP, which can occur when chicken is cooked at high temperatures. The chemical is among those listed under California’s Proposition 65, which requires businesses to warn the public about possible exposure to toxins that can cause cancer or reproductive harm.
Arepresentative for McDonald’s reportedly expressed optimism that the new lawsuit also would be dismissed. Other operators named in the suit deferred comment.
The California Restaurant Association decried the litigation, saying it abused Proposition 65 by potentially encouraging consumers to undercook chicken, a practice that could result in foodborne illness.
