LOS ANGELES (AP) – California health officials are proposing a regulation change that would declare coffee doesn’t present a significant cancer risk.
The proposal announced Friday would counter a recent state court ruling that found coffee should carry warning labels because of a carcinogen found in every cup of brew.
The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment says that a review of more than 1,000 studies published this week by the World Health Organization found inadequate evidence that coffee causes cancer.
If the regulation is adopted it would be a huge win for the coffee industry which faced potentially massive civil penalties after losing a lawsuit over the issue.
A nonprofit group successfully sued Starbucks and other roasters and retailers to require warnings on coffee because of a cancer-causing chemical produced in the roasting process.
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