California Coffee Vendors Must Put Acrylamide Warnings on Drinks. What is Acrylamide?
A judge ruled on Thursday that coffee sellers in California should post warnings about a probably cancer-causing chemical found in the beverage. The chemical, acrylamide, is produced during the coffee bean cooking method, similarly as when sugars and amino acids found in different foods are cooked at high temperatures. It’s one of 65 chemicals included in a California law that needs businesses to warn consumers if they’ll be exposed to substances associated with cancer, birth defects or different reproductive problems. While the choice — that at this point is simply a preliminary ruling, and should still be challenged in court — relates specifically to coffee, customers are actually exposed to acrylamide from various sources. Here’s what to…