Starbucks Coffee causes Cancer can drinking Coffee cause Cancer during the whole WeChat moments incident?

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In the era when everyone is self-media, it is all the more necessary for us to strengthen our ability to distinguish between true and false news.

Recently, messages about Starbucks causing cancer have been scanned on moments, and online marketing accounts have even hit the sensational headline "Starbucks biggest scandal exposed!" The coffee we drink into our mouths is all this kind of stuff. "after eight years of concealment, Starbucks was finally exposed! It's going down! The California government ordered coffee to cause cancer and sentenced Starbucks to death. ".

How did the rumor come about

The incident began on March 30, a report by the Associated Press, Reuters and other media--

A court in Los Angeles has ruled that coffee sold by Starbucks and several other coffee companies in California must bear a cancer warning label, the Associated Press reported. The reason is that roasted coffee on the market has been found to contain acrylamide, a toxic carcinogenic chemical.

The marketing account, led by "Australia Mirror", revolves around the court decision and the plunge in Starbucks stock price, integrates Chinese and foreign media reports, and analyzes the conclusion that Starbucks coffee containing acrylamide can cause cancer.

Starbucks shares plummeted.

The marketing number was the first to mention at the beginning of the article that "Starbucks stock has plunged, its market value has evaporated madly, and its losses are hard to predict!" In fact, Starbucks shares have only fallen by 1%, and the so-called slump is only a comparison between the opening price on the morning of March 29 and the previous closing price. Starbucks' overall share price opened low and went high on the 29th. Under the huge influence of the so-called "eight-year hidden cancer scandal", its closing price was only 1 cent lower than the previous day's closing price.

Subsequently, the marketing account continued to use exaggerated words, "drinking Starbucks coffee actually causes cancer?!" The Wall Street Journal kicked out the amazing truth! "

However, the Wall Street Journal sent a short and carefully worded newsletter with the headline "California Judge Rules Coffee Must Carry Cancer Warning" and the subtitle "Under state's Proposition 65, cancer warnings appear on wide rangeof places and products".

In the Wall Street report, it clearly pointed out the relationship between the two sides of the case, non-profit organizations on the one hand and coffee companies on the other. The dispute between the two sides is whether to put coffee and coffee shops under the jurisdiction of California order 65.

Some media pointed out that not only Starbucks, but also more than 90 fast food giants such as Green Mountain Coffee, 7-11 and Kraft FoodGlobal were sued in this case. Starbucks is only one of these coffee companies, but it is frightened by the marketing account because of the popularity of the trees.

Order 65

As for order 65 mentioned in this article, it is the safe drinking Water and toxic substances Act (The Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act) passed by California residents by an overwhelming majority in 1986, which was passed at that time to protect the safety of drinking water and reduce people's exposure to toxic substances in the environment, so as to control the resulting cancer, congenital diseases and other problems. It allows individual citizens, lobbying groups, or lawyers to sue on behalf of the state.

The bill requires warning labels on 900 chemicals that cause cancer and birth defects. The California order 65 list, updated on December 29, 2017, includes 1009 substances, of which 599 are considered carcinogens.

Order 65 seems stringent, but in fact it is excessively harsh. Because order 65 sets extremely low limits for many ingredients, far below the safety line set by governments, including the FDA of the US Food and Drug Administration. Even products considered by the US government to be qualified and safe will be required to carry warning labels if they do not meet the stringent standards set by order 65.

Excessive harshness can easily lead to meaningless panic among the public, so order 65 has been criticized for its nitpicking rule.

There are all kinds of jokes and caricatures of order 65 circulating on the media and Internet in the United States.

Acrylamide

The protagonist of this "Starbucks Cancer" event is acrylamide Acrylamide. According to a circular released by the State Food and Drug Administration in July 2014, experts from the State Food Safety risk Assessment Center and the School of Food Science and Nutrition Engineering of China Agricultural University believe that acrylamide is neurotoxic to both humans and animals; it also has reproductive toxicity, mutagenicity and carcinogenicity.

Quoted above, according to expert analysis, acrylamide was classified as a Class 2A carcinogen by the International Cancer Research Center in 1994, that is, it is potentially carcinogenic to human beings. However, there is still a lack of population epidemiological evidence that there is a significant correlation between acrylamide intake through food and the occurrence of certain human tumors.

But acrylamide exists in many common foods, as long as it is cooked by frying, baking, barbecue and so on, it will contain acrylamide. Fruit shell network, clove doctors and other authoritative websites have also made popular science: "acrylamide is very common in our diet, coffee is not the main source at all." Even if coffee contains acrylamide, it doesn't mean that drinking coffee causes cancer. "

Screenshot from the "fruit shell net" Wechat account article "Coffee causes Cancer" brushed the screen!? I was scared to have a cup of coffee. "

The latest response from Starbucks China

Starbucks China also responded to this incident--

Starbucks always insists on providing customers with high quality, safe and reliable food and beverages, and is committed to giving customers a high-quality Starbucks experience.

For the lawsuit in California, you can refer to the Chinese translation of the relevant announcement of the National Coffee Industry Association:

Announcement of the National Coffee Industry Association on California decision No. 65 (March 29, 2018)

In this long-running lawsuit, the result of California's ruling No. 65 today may result in all coffee products having to bear a cancer warning label. The coffee industry as a whole is currently considering responses, including continued appeals and further legal action.

Putting a cancer warning label on coffee products would be misleading to consumers. The nutrition guidelines released by the United States government point out that coffee is part of a healthy lifestyle. The World Health Organization (WHO) has also made it clear that coffee does not cause cancer. Numerous academic studies have demonstrated the health benefits of drinking coffee, and coffee drinkers tend to live longer.

William Murray, president and chief executive of the National Coffee Industry Association, said: "Coffee has long been proven to be a healthy drink. The lawsuit produced a ridiculous result. The decision No. 65 puzzled consumers and was not conducive to public awareness of health. "

For more information and details, please refer to the National Coffee Industry Association blog: Prop.65 Percolates: What You Need to Know.

Or refer to the original NCA Statement on CERT Lawsuit of the National Coffee Industry Association on the CERT lawsuit

The reaction of Chinese netizens

Today, a number of authoritative media have issued articles to refute rumors and report rumors related to complaints.

People's Daily's official Wechat post also criticized the marketing account this afternoon, repeating the words from "Dilac Doctor": "Don't let abominable liars live too easily."

Netizens' attitude towards the "Starbucks carcinogenic" incident is also becoming more and more rational.

In the era when everyone is self-media, it is all the more necessary for us to strengthen our ability to distinguish between true and false news, especially for issues related to our own security interests, we should be more vigilant about the source and credibility of the information. Rumors stop at the wise, do not easily reprint unreliable information.