Caffeinate with caution
Is coffee bad for you? The science remains unclear, but a group of judges in California have mandated that all coffee beverages statewide must be sold with a cancer warning. All coffee shops will be required to post a cancer warning beside their coffee drink options and manufactured coffee products must include a cancer warning on the label.
A chemical called acrylamide — a known carcinogen — is formed during the roasting process of most coffee. In an eight-year struggle, the little-known nonprofit Council for Education and Research on Toxics (CERT) has been advocating for the coffee industry to either remove acrylamide from its processing or provide a visible warning to consumers. CERT sued around 70 coffee companies eight years ago; the suit finally kicked off in the courtroom in September 2017.
The grounds for the lawsuit were based on Proposition 65, a California law that enforces labeling of all products containing substances linked to a significant increase in cancer risk. However, whether coffee poses this level of risk seems unclear. There have been studies implying an existing risk factor based on research done on animals, though no such studies have been conducted on humans. But studies also exist that suggest links between coffee and longevity, and others have lauded coffee’s many health benefits. In 2016, the World Health Organization actually removed acrylamide from their list of known carcinogens.
Attorney Raphael Metzger, who brought the lawsuit against the coffee industry, argued that acrylamide could be removed from coffee without impairing the taste of the beans.
“The Metzger Law Group is concerned that this carcinogen is in so many foods that we eat,” their website claims, “and is seriously undertaking efforts to require food companies to reduce the acrylamide content of their food products or, if they cannot do so, to warn California consumers that this carcinogen is present in the foods that they sell.”
This is the second lawsuit the firm has instigated concerning acrylamide; in the first, The Metzger Law Group influenced fast food companies like McDonald’s and Burger King to reduce the presence of acrylamide in their French fries. As a result of the court’s ruling in favor of The Metzger Law Group, potato chip companies such as Frito-Lay began to reduce levels of the chemical in their products.
The coffee industry claims that the chemical’s removal is impossible without altering their coffee’s taste — and that acrylamide exists at such a small level once the beverage is served that it does not pose significant risk. Starbucks and the other coffee companies involved in the suit also claim that the benefits of coffee outweigh any potential for harm.
The Daily Meal has reached out to Starbucks for comment.
“Coffee has been shown, over and over again, to be a healthy beverage,” said William Murray, president and CEO of the National Coffee Association in a press release. “This lawsuit has made a mockery of Prop 65, has confused consumers, and does nothing to improve public health.”
According to the release, the industry is currently considering all of its options, including potential appeals and further legal actions.
The judges’ ruling mandates that even the largest coffee chains begin to post warning labels visibly in their shops.
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