A California judge recently ruled for coffee vendors to require their java labeled with a cancer warning.

This comes after a lawsuit in 2010 by the Council for Education and Research on Toxics, which claimed the beverage contained a known cancer causing agent Acrylamide, that can be formed as a byproduct of roasting coffee beans.

This new ruling has coffee vendors searching for ways to appeal against this action. Under Proposition 65, businesses are required to provide warning labels if they are exposing consumers to hazardous known chemicals.

For businesses that violate this proposition, they can face up to thousands of dollars in fines.

In a recent statement, the National Coffee Association stated, “we are currently considering all of our options, including potential appeals and further legal actions.”

The National Coffee Association includes popular coffee shops such as Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts.

As avid coffee drinkers, this plays a huge role in people’s everyday lives, especially at Fullerton College. Students often rely heavily on the caffeine to get them throughout their school day.

Popular coffee locations here on campus include the Fullerton College Dining Hall and Stinger’s Café. Starbucks coffee can even be found just a short walk from the campus.

“I drink two to three cups a day,” said Katie Coates, Fullerton College student. As an active coffee drinker, when asked if a cancer warning label would drive her away from drinking another cup she responded, “No, but I would do my research. I would try to see if it was any specific coffee causing it.”

“Anytime you walk into a building there are warning labels, so it’s nothing new,” Coates added.

For those considering quitting the hot beverage, there are many arguments against the ruling, claiming that coffee is still very safe to drink.

In fact, according to deputy chief Dr. Len Lichtenfeld of the American Cancer Society, “There is no good human evidence to show the amount of Acrylamide found in coffee causes harm to people.”

“Coffee is my morning ritual,” said Theatre Arts Major Sergio Gamez. “I usually make my coffee through my Keurig machine.”

Putting a cancer warning label on a cup of coffee could certainly cause confusion and even cause students to be weary of drinking that next cup of dark roast.

“I would still drink my coffee even if it had a warning label,” Gamez added. “You are always going to have those people who freak out over every little thing.”