Judge Rules CA Coffee Companies Must Carry Cancer Warning Label

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Los Angeles judge has ruled that California law requires coffee companies to carry a cancer warning label.

Superior Court Judge Elihu Berle said in a proposed decision Wednesday that Starbucks and other coffee companies failed to show the threat from a chemical compound produced in the coffee roasting process was insignificant.

A nonprofit group had sued coffee roasters, distributors and retailers under a state law that requires warnings on a wide range of chemicals that can cause cancer. One is acrylamide, a carcinogen present in coffee.

The coffee industry had claimed the chemical was present at harmless levels and should be exempt from the law because it results naturally from the cooking process to make the beans flavorful.

Proposed California judicial decisions can be reversed but are reversed rarely.

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  1. Folks are going to drink their coffee anyway, just as they are going to eat BBQed meat which also has mutagenic compounds that are created at high temperatures. The label might be useful for people who are truly risk averse. I don’t know the stats, but I’d wager that there’s a higher probability of being struck by a meteorite than death from latte.

    Heterocyclic amines (HCAs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are chemicals formed when muscle meat, including beef, pork, fish, or poultry, is cooked using high-temperature methods, such as pan frying or grilling directly over an open flame (1). In laboratory experiments, HCAs and PAHs have been found to be mutagenic—that is, they cause changes in DNA that may increase the risk of cancer.

  2. “One is acrylamide, a carcinogen present in coffee.”

    Well, that does it: Starting immediately, my little boy goes cold turkey!

  3. Fuck you, Council for Education and Research on Toxics. Might as well slap that shit on everything.

    per Cancer.gov

    The major food sources of acrylamide are French fries and potato chips; crackers, bread, and cookies; breakfast cereals; canned black olives; prune juice; and coffee.

    Regardless, my coffee intake will remain reasonable.
    .

  4. Oh good grief.

    I hate it when they live the conservative stereotype.

  5. Make sure he doesn’t go outside very much either or wear a gas mask when he does. And cold turkey? It’s terrible for your health.

    “The result will be more gas-guzzling vehicles on the road, greater total gasoline consumption, and a significant increase in carbon dioxide emissions.”

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