Transcript for Coffee companies in Calif. to add cancer warnings
We move on to that surprising warning about your morning cup of coffee. A judge in California has ruled that Starbucks and other coffee companies must put a cancer warning on their drinks because of a chemical produced during the roasting process. Want to bring in Dr. Jen Ashton for a reality check. Good morning, Jen. Good morning. What is this irs Jon Karl. Talking about an ingredient called acrylamide. It is not an ingredient but a by-product that’s formed in the roasting or baking process. It’s not just in coffee. It’s in other foods like French fries, toast, cereals and the world health organization has determined that acrylamide is a probable human carcinogen but, remember, when we talking about a toxin you need either a very potent toxin or a high frequency or a very large dose and when you’re talking about coffee, obviously the concern is the high frequency. I read all these studies about the health benefits of moderate use of coffee. Exactly. The medical literature has shown clear and massive associations between coffee and reduced risk of certain types of cancer like skin cancer, liver cancer, a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes, Parkinson’s. The best quote I saw about this controversy came from an oncologist at mit who said coffee is sometimes connected to cancer by the fact that coffee is drunk by living people and only living people develop cancer. So to say there’s cynicism in the medical community is an understatement. Again, it comes down to risk versus benefit and Ben feets clearly outweigh — I already had my coffee. This is just water. Drink up. We’ll have you back at 8:00 for another report.
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
