Activists’ abandon California decaf ban in face of scientific evidence, shift tactics to seek misleading warnings

NEW YORK, April 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — In testimony to the California State Assembly Committee on Health, the National Coffee Association today (April 16) detailed the safety and health benefits of decaffeinated coffee and strongly opposed a last-minute shift that proposes misleading warning labels after activists failed to support a baseless proposed decaf ban.

In the final hours before the hearing, activist group and sponsor of California Assembly Bill 2066 the Clean Label Project abandoned the bill’s proposed ban on the most common type of decaffeinated coffee and instead lobbied legislators to advance a last-minute amendment seeking misleading warning labels.

NCA President and CEO Bill Murray commented:

“There was no evidence to support the proposed ban on European Method decaf, and there is equally no evidence at all to justify this last-minute shift to seeking misleading warning labels.

The bill’s sponsors have clearly been forced to acknowledge the scientific evidence of decaf’s safety, and they should not be allowed to now claim consumers should be warned about health risks that do not exist.

The fact is that decades of independent scientific evidence demonstrate that drinking European Method decaf, like all coffee, is associated with reduced risk of multiple cancers and chronic diseases. The World Health Organization, the American Cancer Society, the American Institute for Cancer Research, the World Cancer Research Fund, and California’s own Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment agree.”

NCA has also detailed the evidence establishing the safety of European Method decaf in comments to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), opposing a separate but related activist petition seeking a federal decaf ban. NCA’s comment to FDA is available here.

Additional NCA resources: Everything you need to know about caffeine, Get the facts about decaf, Coffee & health from head to toe

About the National Coffee Association: The National Coffee Association (NCA) USA, Inc. is the leading trade association serving the U.S. coffee industry through education, advocacy, and connection. NCA members represent an estimated 90% of U.S. coffee commerce with small, medium, and large companies, including growers, importers, exporters, traders, brokers, freight forwarders, roasters, manufacturers, retailers, and allied companies.

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SOURCE National Coffee Association