Coffee sellers in California must post warnings that coffee may pose a cancer risk, a judge ruled Wednesday. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Elihu Berle's verdict came after an eight-year legal battle between a small nonprofit group and the coffee industry, the Associated Press reported. The Council for Education and Research on Toxics sued to force the industry to either remove a known carcinogen called acrylamide from coffee or to warn consumers about the chemical that's produced when coffee beans are roasted.
The industry argued that the level of acrylamide in coffee isn't harmful and that any risks are outweighed by benefits, the APreported.
In his ruling, Berle said the coffee industry didn't make a strong enough case.
"While plaintiff offered evidence that consumption of coffee increases the risk of harm to the fetus, to infants, to children and to adults, defendants' medical and epidemiology experts testified that they had no opinion on causation," Berle wrote in his proposed ruling.
