In an ongoing lawsuit that resumed on 25 September in a Los Angeles state court, a non-profit group is proposing that manufacturers, distributors and retailers be required to post warnings about acrylamide in coffee.
Acrylamide, which is said to be carcinogenic, is created during the coffee-roasting process and found in cooked foods such as French fries and is also a natural by-product of coffee roasting.
Law firm DLA Piper reports that the non-profit group, the Council for Education and Research on Toxics, asserts in the lawsuit that Starbucks and about 90 other companies, including grocery stores and retail shops, have failed to comply with California’s Proposition 65 warning requirements about hazardous chemicals.
The group says it is bringing the case in order to pressure coffee manufacturers to remove the chemical from coffee.
