Taiwanese doctors called for the public to remain calm while responding to reporters’ questions on a ruling by a Los Angeles judge that Starbucks Corp and other coffee sellers must now put cancer warnings on coffee sold in California.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Elihu Berle on Wednesday said that Starbucks and other companies had failed to show there was no significant risk from a carcinogen produced in the coffee roasting process, court documents showed.
The culprit is a chemical produced in the bean roasting process that is a known carcinogen and has been at the heart of an eight-year legal struggle between a tiny nonprofit group and big coffee companies.
The Council for Education and Research on Toxics wanted the coffee industry to disclose the danger with warning labels.
The coffee industry, led by Starbucks Corp, said the level of the chemical in coffee is not harmful and any risks are outweighed by the benefits.
Starbucks and the other defendants have until April 10 to file an objection.
Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital toxicologist Yan Tsung-hai (顏宗海) on Friday said that although the International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified acrylamide as a class 2A substance — probably carcinogenic to humans — there is not sufficient evidence that the substance increases the risk of cancer in humans.
The public should remain calm and not panic, he said.
Acrylamide is present not only in coffee beans, but also in french fries, hash browns, chips and cigarettes, Yan said.
An acceptable daily intake of acrylamide is 2.6mg per kilogram of body weight, Yan said, adding that an adult weighing 60kg should ingest less than 156mg per day.
However, as acrylamide is a byproduct of cooking, it is difficult to measure the amount a person ingests per day, Yan said.
Acrylamide is the product of a chemical reaction between amino acids and reducing sugars in food, which is called the Maillard reaction, and only occurs when the food is heated at more than 120°C, Yan said.
Even if coffee contains acrylamide, research has proven that coffee consumption helps lower the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer, he said.
As one 150ml cup of drip coffee contains 110mg of caffeine, a 60kg adult male should not drink more than three cups a day, while a 50kg female should not drink more than two, Yan said.
Consuming too much coffee can cause heart palpitations, increased blood pressure and an increased heart rate, Yan said.
Taiwan’s Food and Drug Administration Food Safety Division Director Lee Wan-chen (李婉媜) said the California ruling is the only one of its kind in the world.
She said eating less deep-fried or baked foods, sticking to a balanced diet and exercising regularly, is the key to good health.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
RSS