Calif. Court Rejects Coffee Makers’ Defenses at Conclusion of First Phase in Acrylamide Trial

LOS ANGELES –– A California trial court has rejected a number of defenses asserted by coffee makers during the first phase of a bifurcated trial involving claims that the defendants violated the state’s Proposition 65 requirement to warn consumers that their coffee contains acrylamide.

In a June 25 ruling, the California Superior Court for Los Angeles County found that the defendants did not meet their burden of debunking claims that acrylamide in coffee poses a significant risk of cancer.

Judge Elihu M. Berle presided over the first phase.

The Council for Education and Research on Toxics (CERT), a …