California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment has proposed a rule saying that Proposition 65 - which “requires sellers to inform customers about chemicals known to cause cancer, birth defects or reproductive problems” - should not be applied to coffee, which means that coffee shops won’t be required to “warn drinkers about a cancer-causing chemical in their brews.”
The Newsweek story notes that “the science regarding the health effects of coffee is controversial and inconsistent. While acrylamide, which is created naturally through the brewing process, has demonstrated cancer-causing properties in mice, researchers have not performed these tests on humans, and the small amount in your morning brew may or may not ever hurt you … California officials decided that warning consumers of carcinogens in coffee was taking Proposition 65 too far, and that people would just start ignoring these warnings if they see them too often.”
The rule proposal now faces a public comment phase before it becomes finalized.
The Newsweek story notes that “the science regarding the health effects of coffee is controversial and inconsistent. While acrylamide, which is created naturally through the brewing process, has demonstrated cancer-causing properties in mice, researchers have not performed these tests on humans, and the small amount in your morning brew may or may not ever hurt you … California officials decided that warning consumers of carcinogens in coffee was taking Proposition 65 too far, and that people would just start ignoring these warnings if they see them too often.”
The rule proposal now faces a public comment phase before it becomes finalized.
- KC's View:
