Bad news for all the coffee lovers. Starbucks and other coffee makers must put a cancer warning on coffee sold in California, Los Angeles. A judge has ruled, possibly exposing the companies to millions of dollars in fines. The coffee makers will have to post warnings because the brew may contain an ingredient that’s been linked to cancer. The culprit is acrylamide, a chemical produced in the bean roasting process that is a known carcinogen. A little-known not-for-profit group sued some 90 coffee retailers, including Starbucks, on grounds they were violating a California law requiring companies to warn consumers of chemicals in their products that could cause cancer.

The Council for Education and Research on Toxics sued to require the coffee industry to remove acrylamide from its processing or disclose the danger in ominous warning signs or labels. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Elihu Berle said in a decision that Starbucks and other companies had failed to show there was no significant risk from a carcinogen produced in the coffee roasting process. In his proposed ruling, Berle wrote, “While plaintiff offered evidence that consumption of coffee increases the risk of harm to the foetus, to infants, to children and to adults, defendants’ medical and epidemiology experts testified that they had no opinion on causation. Defendants failed to satisfy their burden of proving by a preponderance of evidence that consumption of coffee confers a benefit a benefit to human health.”

Starbucks and other defendants have until April 10 to file objections to the decision. Starbucks declined to comment, referring reports to a statement by the National Coffee association (NCA) that said the industry was considering an appeal and further legal actions. “Cancer warning labels on coffee would be misleading. The U.S. government’s own Dietary Guidelines state that coffee can be a part of a healthy lifestyle,” the NCA statement said. Officials from Dunkin’ Donuts, McDonald’s Corp, Peet’s and other big coffee sellers did not immediately respond to request for comment.

The lawsuit was filed in 2010 by the CERT. It calls for fines as large as 2,500 dollars per person for every exposure to the chemical since 2002 at the defendants’ shops in California. The lawsuit was brought under the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act, passed by voters in 1986. It allows private citizens, advocacy groups and attorneys to sue on behalf of the state and collect a portion of civil penalties.

Starbucks lost the first phase of the trial in which it failed to show the level of acrylamide in coffee was below that which would pose a significant risk of cancer. In the second phase, defendants failed to prove there was an acceptable ‘alternative’ risk level for the carcinogen, court documents showed. Several defendants in the case settled before Wednesday’s decision, agreeing to post signage about the cancer-linked chemical and pay millions in fines, according to published reports.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 31, 2018 10:59 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).