The news that a California judge had ruled that coffee sold in the U.S. state should carry a cancer warning may have come as a buzz-kill for many.
Coffee companies, led by Starbucks Corp., acknowledge the presence of the chemical, but said it’s found in trace levels that are harmless. They argue any risks are outweighed by other health benefits from drinking the beverage.
Like many foods that are cooked, coffee-roasting creates a chemical by-product called acrylamide that is a carcinogen.
The Council for Education and Research on Toxics, a small non-profit organisation, took the coffee industry to court under a California law that requires warnings where chemicals known to cause cancer or birth defects are present.
While scientists have gone back and forth for years on benefits or risks from coffee, concerns have eased recently and some studies have found health benefits and even lower risks of getting certain cancer types.
But a Los Angeles Superior Court judge said coffee companies had failed to prove their case.
The National Coffee Association said the industry was considering all options, including appeals and further legal action.
The law only applies to California, but the state is such a massive market that tailoring packaging with warnings specifically to stores in the state could be a tall order.
Jim Colopy, who has defended coffee manufacturers, said it’s not feasible for his clients who market products nationally and worldwide to create California-only packaging. “Often industry has no choice but to provide a warning no matter where they are sold, whether inside or outside of California,” he said.
