Coffee and cancer? Judge rules your morning joe must come with warning in California

California Coffee Maybe Sold With Cancer Warning

For those who can’t get through the day without a cup of coffee, a judge in California has put a damper on that morning cup of sunshine.

Starbucks and 90 other retailers must now put a warning label on their coffee that it contains chemicals that could cause cancer, Reuters reported.

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Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Elihu Berle released his decision that found in favor of a not-for-profit group, the Council for Education and Research on Toxics, that sued coffee retailers in California that they said were violating California law.

The chemical at the center of the case, which was filed in 2010, is acrylamide, a chemical that is known to cause cancer, but that is naturally produced during the roasting of coffee beans and can be found in the coffee we drink, The Washington Post reported.

Companies had to show that acrylamide in coffee wouldn't cause one or more cases of cancer in every 100,000 people, but the judge said that companies failed to show the trend, the Post reported.

Starbucks and the other defendants, like McDonald’s, Dunkin’ Donuts and Peet’s, have until April 10 to file objections.

The next phase of the trial will set any civil penalties against the companies that had not settled, the Post reported.

Some defendants settled before this week's warning, and agreed to post warnings and pay fines, Reuters reported.

FILE PHOTO: A woman drinks from a coffee mug in a Starbucks.

Credit: Daniel Berehulak

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Credit: Daniel Berehulak