Coffee Requires Cancer Warning, California Judge Rules

A judge in Los Angeles, California, United States has ordered
coffee’s globally known retailer Starbucks Corp and other coffee
sellers to put a cancer warning on coffee sold in the state.

A little-known not-for-profit group sued some 90 coffee
retailers, including Starbucks, on grounds they were violating a
California law requiring companies to warn consumers of chemicals
in their products that could cause cancer.

One of those chemicals is acrylamide, a byproduct of roasting
coffee beans that is present in high levels in brewed coffee.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Elihu Berle said in a decision
dated Wednesday that Starbucks and other companies had failed to
show there was no significant risk from a carcinogen produced in
the coffee roasting process, court documents showed.

Starbucks and other defendants have until April 10 to file
objections to the decision.

Starbucks declined to comment, referring reporters to a
statement by the National Coffee Association (NCA) that said the
industry was considering an appeal and further legal actions.

“Cancer warning labels on coffee would be misleading. The U.S.
government’s own Dietary Guidelines state that coffee can be part
of a healthy lifestyle,” the NCA statement said.

In his decision, Berle said: “Defendants failed to satisfy their
burden of proving by a preponderance of evidence that consumption
of coffee confers a benefit to human health.”

Officials from Dunkin’ Donuts, McDonald’s Corp , Peet’s and
other big coffee sellers did not immediately respond to requests
for comment, Reuters reported.

The lawsuit was filed in 2010 by the Council for Education and
Research on Toxics (CERT). It calls for fines as large as $2,500
per person for every exposure to the chemical since 2002 at the
defendants’ shops in California.

Any civil penalties, which will be decided in a third phase of
the trial, could be huge in California, which has a population of
nearly 40 million.

CERT’s lawyer Raphael Metzger did not immediately respond to a
request for comment.

Starbucks lost the first phase of the trial in which it failed
to show the level of acrylamide in coffee was below that which
would pose a significant risk of cancer. In the second phase of the
trial, defendants failed to prove there was an acceptable
“alternative” risk level for the carcinogen, court documents
showed.

Several defendants in the case settled before Wednesday’s
decision, agreeing to post signage about the cancer-linked chemical
and pay millions in fines, according to published reports.

A judge in Los Angeles, California, United States has ordered
coffee’s globally known retailer Starbucks Corp and other coffee
sellers to put a cancer warning on coffee sold in the
state.

A little-known not-for-profit group sued some 90 coffee
retailers, including Starbucks, on grounds they were violating a
California law requiring companies to warn consumers of chemicals
in their products that could cause cancer.

One of those chemicals is acrylamide, a byproduct of roasting
coffee beans that is present in high levels in brewed coffee.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Elihu Berle said in a decision
dated Wednesday that Starbucks and other companies had failed to
show there was no significant risk from a carcinogen produced in
the coffee roasting process, court documents showed.

Starbucks and other defendants have until April 10 to file
objections to the decision.

Starbucks declined to comment, referring reporters to a
statement by the National Coffee Association (NCA) that said the
industry was considering an appeal and further legal actions.

“Cancer warning labels on coffee would be misleading. The U.S.
government’s own Dietary Guidelines state that coffee can be part
of a healthy lifestyle,” the NCA statement said.

In his decision, Berle said: “Defendants failed to satisfy their
burden of proving by a preponderance of evidence that consumption
of coffee confers a benefit to human health.”

Officials from Dunkin’ Donuts, McDonald’s Corp , Peet’s and
other big coffee sellers did not immediately respond to requests
for comment, Reuters reported.

The lawsuit was filed in 2010 by the Council for Education and
Research on Toxics (CERT). It calls for fines as large as $2,500
per person for every exposure to the chemical since 2002 at the
defendants’ shops in California.

Any civil penalties, which will be decided in a third phase of
the trial, could be huge in California, which has a population of
nearly 40 million.

CERT’s lawyer Raphael Metzger did not immediately respond to a
request for comment.

Starbucks lost the first phase of the trial in which it failed
to show the level of acrylamide in coffee was below that which
would pose a significant risk of cancer. In the second phase of the
trial, defendants failed to prove there was an acceptable
“alternative” risk level for the carcinogen, court documents
showed.

Several defendants in the case settled before Wednesday’s
decision, agreeing to post signage about the cancer-linked chemical
and pay millions in fines, according to published reports.