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| Roasted coffee, containing acrylamide that possibly causes a cancer, is causing concern among Koreans, who drink a large amount of coffee compared to people in other countries. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk |
By Ko Dong-hwan
Three months after the state of California mandated local coffee shops to post a warning sign about acrylamide ― a chemical formed while roasting coffee beans that possibly can cause cancer ― a Korean TV show reported on the danger last weekend.
The warning on "Consumer Report" on KBS 1TV is a shock because Korea is one of the world's most serious coffee-drinking countries ― one Korean drinks an average 512 cups of coffee per year.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer, an arm of the World Health Organization under the United Nations, categorizes acrylamide on the "Group 2A" list of probable carcinogens, or any substance, radionuclide or radiation that promotes the formation of cancer. Agents in this group, however, have shown limited evidence of carcinogenicity in humans, although there is sufficient evidence in experiments on animals.
Studies so far have shown the chemical is generally formed when extreme heat is used to cook vegetable foods that are high in carbohydrates and low in protein. It remains in food cooked at 120 Celsius degree or hotter. If consumed excessively, it could damage the human nervous system.
According to "Consumer Report," roasted coffee beans contain up to 244 micrograms of acrylamide per kilogram. Instant soluble coffee contains nearly 1,000 micrograms of the chemical per kilogram, which surpasses the European Union's standard cap for the product of 850 introduced in April this year.
In March, a California judge ordered about 90 coffee chains in the state, including Starbucks, to warn customers that coffee carries a cancer risk. The decision came after companies failed to comply with a state law that requires businesses to warn customers about chemicals that could have negative health effects.
The state law was introduced after years of litigation by a nonprofit research group that had sued coffee roasters, claiming they violated the law by not warning consumers about the chemical.
But until now, the Korean public has barely been aware of acrylamide and its risk.
"You don't have to avoid drinking coffee," a nutritional science expert says. "But it remains controversial because the potential cancerous agent has not led to a scientifically proven conclusion that it causes harm to humans. Besides, the chemical is not only present in coffee but in other food that we normally eat."
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