One has to wonder if such a warning will deter a single coffee drinker from drinking coffee. And if not, then what’s the point?

A Los Angeles judge has ruled that California law requires coffee companies to carry an ominous cancer warning label because of a chemical produced in the roasting process.

Elihu Berle, a superior court judge, wrote in a proposed ruling on Wednesday that Starbucks and other coffee companies failed to show that the threat from a chemical compound produced in the roasting process was insignificant.

A not-for-profit group had sued coffee roasters, distributors and retailers under a state law that requires warnings on a wide range of chemicals that can cause cancer. One of those chemicals is acrylamide, a carcinogen present in coffee.