Coffee sold in California could carry cancer warning labels - Sensationalist Headlines

[url]http://abcnews.go.com/Lifestyle/wireStory/coffee-sold-california-carry-cancer-warning-labels-50082860[/url] [IMG]https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2328/5712225742_b349981c21_z.jpg[/IMG] [QUOTE]A future cup of coffee in California could give you jitters before you even take a sip.A nonprofit group wants coffee manufacturers, distributors and retailers to post ominous warnings about a cancer-causing chemical stewing in every brew and has been presenting evidence in a Los Angeles courtroom to make its case. The long-running lawsuit that resumed Monday claims Starbucks and about 90 other companies, including grocery stores and retail shops, failed to follow a state law requiring warning signs about hazardous chemicals found everywhere from household products to workplaces to the environment. At the center of the dispute is acrylamide, a carcinogen found in cooked foods such as French fries that is also a natural byproduct of the coffee roasting process. The coffee industry has acknowledged the presence of the chemical but asserts it is at harmless levels and is outweighed by benefits from drinking coffee. Although the case has been percolating in the courts since 2010, it has gotten little attention. A verdict in favor of the little-known Council for Education and Research on Toxics could send a jolt through the industry with astronomical penalties possible and it could wake up a lot of consumers, though it's unclear what effect it would have on coffee-drinking habits. The lawyer taking on Big Coffee said the larger goal is to motivate the industry to remove the chemical from coffee, which would also benefit his own three-cup-a-day fix. "I'm addicted — like two-thirds of the population," attorney Raphael Metzger said. "I would like the industry to get acrylamide out of the coffee so my addiction doesn't force me to ingest it." Under the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act, passed by voters as Proposition 65 in 1986, private citizens, advocacy groups and attorneys can sue on behalf of the state and collect a portion of civil penalties. Metzger represented the council in a case later taken up by the state attorney general that resulted in potato-chip makers agreeing in 2008 to pay $3 million and remove acrylamide from their product. The law has been roundly criticized for abuses by lawyers shaking down businesses for quick settlements but is also credited with reducing chemicals known to cause [URL="http://abcnews.go.com/topics/lifestyle/health/cancer.htm"]cancer[/URL] and birth defects, such as lead in hair dyes, mercury in nasal sprays and arsenic in bottled water. But warnings, which can be startling on first encounter, have been less effective due to sometimes inconspicuous placement or vague language. Drivers everywhere appear to prioritize parking in a garage over warnings such as, "This area contains chemicals known to the state of California to cause cancer, birth defects and other reproductive harm."[/QUOTE]

When everything causes X, the real things that cause it are made less important

[quote]The lawyer taking on Big Coffee said the larger goal is to motivate the industry to remove the chemical from coffee, which would also benefit his own three-cup-a-day fix.[/quote] There's no feasible way. It's in almost [I]everything.[/I] Anything you consume that's heated to temperatures sufficient to cook for an extended period of time is going to have it. It's a byproduct of the process (specifically the Maillard reaction), so what are they going to do, filter everyone's coffee through giant fine-grain filter machines? Subject it to more chemical processes? It's ridiculous.

Cali puts the burden on the defendent, but just with a cursory read of [URL="https://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancer-causes/acrylamide.html"]this[/URL] it really doesn't seem that problematic, and it's honestly in so many things regardless.

really pointless.

Why is California such a parody of itself?

That's a bit like saying to everyone meat can cause cancer. Yeah, it's like no shit.

Next step: Pictures of cancer patients on the side of bread bags and coffee cups in cafes.

According to California, everything is known to cause cancer... I mean I don't even live in California but so many products I buy carry that "warning" since manufacturers don't want to make separate product lines just for California. Those labels really lost all meaning to me.

[QUOTE=Kigen;52718629]According to California, everything is known to cause cancer... I mean I don't even live in California but so many products I buy carry that "warning" since manufacturers don't want to make separate product lines just for California. Those labels really lost all meaning to me.[/QUOTE] Wasn't there some product that didn't contain anything carcinogenic but because the packaging did, it had to have a warning on it?

[QUOTE=tratzzz;52718660]Wasn't there some product that didn't contain anything carcinogenic but because the packaging did, it had to have a warning on it?[/QUOTE] "The packaging you are holding in your hands contains chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer and other reproductive harm" :v:

[quote]Although the case has been [b]percolating[/b] in the courts since 2010, it has gotten little attention.[/quote] cheeky fucker

Better put a warning label on the sun, that thing can pump out skin cancer like no other.

[QUOTE=Kigen;52718629]According to California, everything is known to cause cancer... I mean I don't even live in California but so many products I buy carry that "warning" since manufacturers don't want to make separate product lines just for California. Those labels really lost all meaning to me.[/QUOTE] I don't even live in the US but I bought a guitar case from there and it came with a warning from California saying the case contains cancer-causing chemicals :v:

isn't everything known to the state of california to cause cancer?

Visiting California is more dangerous than Chernobyl these days

"Did you know that if you eat a proper diet, exercise regularly, and get plenty of rest, you'll still die anyway?" If you're going to overuse labeling, you ought to at least be clever about it.

What would [i]actually[/i] be useful is a label listing the possible carcinogens present, and at what levels. But the layperson lacks the expertise needed to make use of that information, so we end up with useless, counterproductive garbage like this.

Useless warnings are the absolute worst. They make the real warnings less effective.

I already see the prop 65 warning on everything, so sure.

[QUOTE=ElectricSquid;52718396]There's no feasible way. It's in almost [I]everything.[/I] Anything you consume that's heated to temperatures sufficient to cook for an extended period of time is going to have it. It's a byproduct of the process (specifically the Maillard reaction), so what are they going to do, filter everyone's coffee through giant fine-grain filter machines? Subject it to more chemical processes? It's ridiculous.[/QUOTE] And here I thought it would be about the dichloromethane used to decaffeinate coffee.

[QUOTE=angelangel;52718909]isn't everything known to the state of california to cause cancer?[/QUOTE] That's probably because California is cancer.

Welcome to the risk of fucking living mates Everything can kill you Owning a kitten can kill you. Cat scratch infections are a real thing. Eating eggs can kill you. Cholesterol can clog your entire body. Having a baby can kill you. You can bleed out and die. You can slip and fall and slash your throat wide open, killing you painfully

They should create some sort of symbol system, like the hazard diamonds-ish, to describe these things. So go ahead and have them declare that this stuff is in coffee, but with a simple label that can say that hey, there is only trace amounts of the shit. Rather than that verbose scary prop 65 shit.

Oxygen is the biggest cause of cancer. Breathing carries the risk of inhaling free-radicals. The air your breath hides ionized atoms in it. The air is literally trying to give you lung cancer. Ban breathing. Why are people in this state so dumb? Everything is going to carry a warning about cancer. They need to stop putting labels like this on everything, it's completely pointless. Though I do like the warnings where t sounds like objects only cause cancer in California.

[QUOTE=thelurker1234;52720569]They should create some sort of symbol system, like the hazard diamonds-ish, to describe these things. So go ahead and have them declare that this stuff is in coffee, but with a simple label that can say that hey, there is only trace amounts of the shit. Rather than that verbose scary prop 65 shit.[/QUOTE] If it requires more than a nematode brain to decipher and involves numbers instead of scary words, soccer moms wouldn't push for it.

My past two and current desk chairs all cause cancer in California, too. Go ahead and put up the warning, I'm sure it'll be as effective as the "THIS SHIT KILLS YOU" warnings on cigarettes.

[QUOTE=J!NX;52720287]Welcome to the risk of fucking living mates Everything can kill you Owning a kitten can kill you. Cat scratch infections are a real thing. Eating eggs can kill you. Cholesterol can clog your entire body. Having a baby can kill you. You can bleed out and die. You can slip and fall and slash your throat wide open, killing you painfully[/QUOTE] Better stay inside sitting in front of the computer all day, everytime as to not risk it... oh wait

we're here for a good time, not a long time.