First off – don’t panic. 🙂 Keep drinking your coffee while you read this.
A judge in California has ruled that coffee companies have to display a warning that coffee poses a cancer risk, due to the presence of acrylamide, a chemical produced in the roasting process. Â It’s true, too…this is nasty stuff, discovered in 2002. Â Lab studies have shown an increased risk of cancer, though the levels used around 1,000 to 10,000 times higher than what people would be exposed to in food. Â It’s not just in coffee though…it’s found in potato chips, bread, cereals, french fries, cigarettes, even canned black olives. Â California has a law, though (Proposition 65) requiring consumers to be informed if the product they’re buying contains dangerous chemicals…hence this court ruling. Â So…sure, acrylamide can cause cancer at high levels…but so can a lot of other things we are exposed to.
On the flip side, coffee has been shown to have positive health benefits too, being linked to a reduced risk of death from heat disease, stroke, diabetes, neurological disease, etc.  So…no need to panic, if you ask me.  Just enjoy everything in moderation. 🙂
Read more about acrylamide at the American Cancer Society if you’re interested.