The Sacramento Union, June i, 2007

Kentucky Fried Chicken recently agreed to warn it's California customers about a possible cancer-causing chemical contained in some of its food. But this isn't reason for alarm, as the food is no worse for you in California than in other states. What is alarming is that KFC was pressured to make this warning by an activist attorney general's office.

Attomev General Jerry Brown, former governor of California and mayor of Oakland, has revealed his vision for an activist AG office--recently filing a suit against the Bush Administration over its environmental policies. But Brown also inherited a number of other activist suits filed by former Attorney General Bill Lockyer, including one against automobile companies, and the one to pressure KFC.

In 2005. Lockyer sued nine companies. including KFC, McDonald's, and FritoLay. alleging health mislabeling of their products under Califomia's 21-year-old Proposition 65. The 1986 law mandates that warning must be given whenever individuals are exposed to chemicals known to cause cancer, birth defects, or other reproductive harm.

The reason for the suit is that French fries and potato chips contain acrylamide -- a chemical compound that in high concentrations has been shown to increase the risk of cancer in laboratory animals such as rats. The suit asserts that sellers must warn consumers of its presence under Prop 65.

Acrylamide is a naturally occurring compound in foods like potatoes. breads. and coffee when heated to high temperatures. And medical studics have determined that the doses of acrylamide in foods have only negligible effects on humans and do not raise the risk or cancer. After surveying the medical evidence, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration concluded that, due to lack of evidence, waming signs of cancer risk are unnecessary. Still. Califomia's attorney general persisted with the suit, His reason for doing so is troubling.

Since the passage of Prop 65. Califomia trial lawyers have had a field day raking in millions of dollars by suing any company that fails to meet the state's draconian labeling standards. Mandating that food manufacturers and sellers be required to issue warnings regarding tiny amounts of safe acrylamide opens up a larege pool of posslble defendants with deep pockets for personal injury lawyers to sue. The added costs of these suits are passed on to conusmers in the form of higher food prices.

It was easy to understand why Lockyer wanted to please personal injury lawyers. The top contributors to his attorney general campaigns were lawyers and law firms. including many specializing in class actions and personal-injury suits. In 1998. they contributed nearly a million dollars to his campaign for attorney general.

Now that KFC has caved to litigation pressure - agreeing to print the warning labels and pay $341,000 in civil penalties and funding for Prop 65 enforcement - other companies will likely follow. This news makes Califomia's Prop-65 lawyers salivate.

The annual cost of the American tort system is $865 billion, and 68 percent  is excess. Part of the excess comes from needless expenses for a nonexistent benefit, as in the KFC case.

The job of the attorney general is to enforce all the laws on behalf of all the people. not just measures calculated to benefit the rich and powertul personal injury lobby. The higher food prices Californians pay will line their pockets.

Hovannes Abramyan is a policy  fellow in busness and economic studies at the Pacific Reseach Institute in San Francisco. He is co-author of "Jackpot Justice: The True Cost of America's Tort System" and an be contacted at HAbramyan@pacificresearch.org.