Could coffee cause cancer? California’s caffeine-seekers will now be warned of that possibility, after a Los Angeles judge ruled that Starbucks and other companies had failed to show there was no significant risk from acrylamide, a chemical produced in the coffee-roasting process. The ruling comes after a suit filed by a little-known nonprofit, the Council for Education and Research on Toxins. The ruling could cost Starbucks big bucks: The suit calls for fines as large as $2,500 per person for every exposure to the chemical since 2002. Starbucks and other defendants have until April 10 to file objections to the decision.
