Food agency wades into Californian coffee cancer labels controversy

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is publicly opposing a recent court ruling that could require coffee sold in California to be labelled with a cancer warning because of the presence of the chemical acrylamide –a byproduct of the coffee bean roasting process.

Acrylamide is listed as a carcinogen under California’s Proposition 65, a law that requires businesses to notify consumers about chemicals that cause cancer and other serious health issues.