PCRM: public ought to know the health risks of grilled meat

Nation's Restaurant News,  June 23, 2008  by Susan Levin

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Editor, NRN:

Consumers deserve to know that grilled chicken presents a health risk because of the cancer-causing compounds, including PhIP, that form when the meat is cooked at a high temperature ["Advocates target KFC's new chicken for health scrutiny," NRN Online March 26]. The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, an independent nonprofit research organization with more than 6,000 physician members, is working to educate the public about this cancer risk.

We hope to receive more information from KFC about what cooking method will be used to produce its new product. But whether the company's "grilled chicken" is produced by baking or grilling, consumers have other reasons to be concerned.

Grilled chicken is often touted as a healthy alternative to fried food, but grilled and baked chicken have about as much fat and calories as fried chicken. Even at its leanest, chicken gets about 23 percent of its calories from fat, much of which is saturated fat. Chicken is also loaded with cholesterol: One skinless chicken breast has 146 milligrams. That's 12 milligrams more than a 6-ounce portion of beef. Perhaps it's time for KFC to offer a healthy vegetarian alternative.

--Susan Levin, M.S., R.D.

staff dietitian

Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine

Washington, D.C

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