Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
California Seeks To Clear Coffee Of Cancer Risk Warnings Despite Presence Of Dangerous Chemical
California officials, having concluded coffee drinking is not a risky pastime, are proposing a regulation that will essentially tell consumers of America's favorite beverage they can drink up without fear. The unprecedented action Friday by the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment to propose a regulation to clear coffee of the stigma that it could pose a toxic risk followed a review of more than 1,000 studies published this week by the World Health Organization that found inadequate evidence that coffee causes cancer. (6/16)
A California agency has proposed a regulation that would get rid of a cancer warning placed on coffee. ...鈥淭he proposed regulation would state that drinking coffee does not pose a significant cancer risk, despite the presence of chemicals created during the roasting and brewing process that are listed under Proposition 65 as known carcinogens,鈥 the agency said in a statement. In 1986, state voters passed a law requiring a warning be placed on chemicals known to cause cancer or birth defects. One of those chemicals was acrylamide, which is a byproduct of coffee roasting and brewing. (Sanchez, 6/16)