Coffee Causes Cancer, According to the State of California

Coffee products in California will soon include cancer warning labels — assuming an LA judge’s recent decision stands. This means shops like Starbucks and Peet’s Coffee, in addition to smaller roasters like Four Barrel, may soon be required to post signage or include warnings on individually packaged products or in physical retail locations.

According to the Associated Press, a Superior Court judge ruled in support of a suit filed by Council for Education and Research on Toxics, who say they want consumers to be aware of a carcinogen called acrylamide, which is produced during the coffee roasting process. Coffee lobbyists argue that acrylamide, a known carcinogen, is “harmless” at the levels it’s found in roasted coffee; they did not see a need to include a cancer warning because the chemical “results naturally from the cooking process to make the beans flavorful.”

The proposed ruling — which falls under the state’s proposition 65, a rule that says businesses must give customers a “clear and reasonable warning” about ingredients or materials that may affect health — could be challenged and reversed, though a reversal is unlikely, according to the A.P.

The original case dates back to 2010, and 13 of the original defendants, including 7-Eleven, settled, while Starbucks and others stuck it out. They must now include a label on their products that reads, in part:

“Chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer and reproductive toxicity, including acrylamide, are present in coffee, baked goods, and other food or beverages sold here. Acrylamide is not added to our products, but results from cooking, such as when coffee beans are roasted or baked goods are baked. As a result, acrylamide is present in our brewed coffee…”

Raphael Metzger, the attorney representing the Council for Education and Research on Toxics, said it hopes this ruling will encourage coffee companies to reduce the amount of acrylamide such that there won’t be a significant cancer risk. “I’m addicted to coffee, I confess, and I would like to be able to have mine without acrylamide,” Metzger told CNN.

The Food and Drug Administration “is still in the information gathering stage” on the chemical, but the FDA’s website offers ways for the public to cut it out of their diet. Meanwhile, research on the chemical, its perceived effects on humans, and the amounts considered dangerous to health, remain a topic of debate.

• Coffee may come with a cancer warning in California [CNN]
• Does Coffee Contain a Carcinogen? Here’s What the Science Says [LiveScience]