Consumer Body Seeks Govt Probe Into Meat Sold At Fast Food Eateries

SHAH ALAM, Sept 29 (Bernama) -- The Consumers Association of Subang and Shah Alam (CASSA) Friday called on two ministries to investigate and determine if meat sold in fast food eateries is free from "a dangerous carcinogenic" substance.
CASSA President Datuk Dr Jacob George said the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs should conduct the probe because CASSA has received a report from its international counterpart that a group of doctors in the United States found that every sample of grilled chicken products from seven US fast food restaurants tested positive for a dangerous carcinogenic compound called PhIP during analysis at an independent laboratory.
He said in a statement that CASSA was informed that the doctors had sued the seven fast food chains over the substance in the grilled chicken products.
He also said that CASSA has been informed that the Washington-based Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) has filed a suit in California to compel fast food restaurants in the United States to warn unsuspecting consumers.
Carcinogenic is any substance or agent that promotes cancer, and it may cause the disease by altering cellular metabolism or damaging the DNA directly in cells, which interferes with the normal biological process, he said.