Californians May Soon See Cancer Warnings On Coffee

LONG BEACH, CA -- A California judge will determine whether coffee sold in the state should have cancer warning labels. The ruling, which could be handed down sometime this year, comes after a Long Beach lawyer sued restaurants stating the warning is needed as coffee contains acrylamide, a carcinogen.

Attorney Raphael Metzger filed a lawsuit in 2010 against companies such as Starbucks and 7-Eleven claiming coffee needs warning labels because of Proposition 65, a 1986 law that requires items containing acrylamide to have warning labels.

Metzger's lawsuit comes after he sued fast food companies in 2002 contending that french fries also contained the hazardous ingredient.

The current lawsuit, filed on behalf of the Council for Education and Research on Toxics, ask that coffee have the warning labels or makers "reduce the acrylamide content of their coffee products to safe levels."

"The Metzger Law Group is concerned that this carcinogen is in so many foods that we eat 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," the law firm's website states.

The National Coffee Association, which represents the retailers in the lawsuit, said "there is no evidence that coffee causes cancer."
"Context is always critical," the group wrote on its website. "Coffee is a complex beverage (both compositionally and culturally) – and it’s much, much more than just one of its elements. Pretending otherwise does not serve public interest in any way."

CNN reported that "at least 13 of the defendants have settled and agreed to give a warning, most recently 7-Eleven."

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Long Beach Attorney Sues Starbucks, 7-Eleven Over Coffee