Coffee will now come with a cancer warning in California

Representation pic

Scientists have not rendered a verdict on whether coffee is good or bad for you, but a California judge has. He says coffee sellers in the state should have to post cancer warnings. The culprit is a chemical produced in the bean roasting process that is a known carcinogen and has been at the heart of an eight-year legal struggle between a tiny nonprofit group and Big Coffee.

The Council for Education and Research on Toxics wanted the coffee industry to remove acrylamide from its processing or disclose the danger in ominous warning signs or labels. The industry, led by Starbucks Corp, said the level of the chemical in coffee isn't harmful and any risks are outweighed by benefits.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Elihu Berle said that the coffee makers had not presented the proper grounds at trial to prevail. The suit was brought against Starbucks and 90 companies under a controversial law passed by California voters in 1986 that has been credited with culling cancer-causing chemicals from myriad products and also criticised for leading to quick settlement shakedowns.

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