Supermarket chain Kroger is allegedly selling wheat bread containing high levels of urethane without a required warning on the packaging, according to a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
The lawsuit, filed by Custodio & Dubey LLP, says urethane is a carcinogen and California Proposition 65 requires manufacturers and other businesses to post warning signs on products that contain specific chemicals that are known to cause cancer or birth defects.
According to the EPA, some 200 studies have shown urethane to cause cancer in animals.
The lawsuit also says Kroger brand wheat bread lists azodicarbonamide as one of its ingredients.
Earlier this year, Subway removed azodicarbonamide from its bread, CNN reports. Although the chemical is approved by the FDA, one of its breakdown products is urethane. Azodicarbonamide is banned for use in food products in the European Union.
The lawsuit asks the court to require Kroger to either remove azodicarbonamide from its wheat bread to lower the urethane content, or to provide a Proposition 65 warning on the bread packaging.
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