Starbucks Faces Lawsuit Over Cancer Risk Allegations

In January 2026, consumers represented by the law firm Hagens Berman filed a class-action lawsuit against Starbucks. The lawsuit accused the company of misleading claims about the presence of volatile organic compounds (also known as VOCs) in some of their products.

Tests done on Starbucks’ decaf house blend medium roast coffee found that it contained methylene chloride, benzene and toluene. These three chemicals are VOCs, and are usually seen in industrial applications (e.g. paint removers, adhesives or varnishes). They may cause health issues including respiratory irritation, headaches, and nausea.

According to the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), exposure to benzene has been linked with a higher risk of cancer, while the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has found increased cancer risk from exposure to methylene chloride. Although toluene is not a known carcinogen, it’s known for neurotoxic effects upon inhalation, including dizziness and headaches. Chronic exposure to toluene could lead to brain damage.

The lawsuit claimed that testing found methylene chloride, benzene and toluene levels above the safety levels established by the US EPA.

In response to the lawsuit, a company representative provided a statement saying: “We take the allegations raised in the Williams and Strauss lawsuit seriously, but we firmly believe they are inaccurate.” Instead, they reassured consumers that they “maintain visibility into our supply chain, audit farms regularly, and take swift action when violations are reported—including terminating supplier relationships when necessary.”

Back in 2018, Starbucks also faced a similar lawsuit in California. The Council for Education and Research on Toxics sued around 90 coffee retailers, including Starbucks, on grounds that they had failed to warn consumers of potentially cancer-causing chemicals in their products.

One of those chemicals was acrylamide, a by-product of coffee bean roasting, usually found in high levels in coffee. The lawsuit pushed to include the presence of acrylamide in product warnings, as research found that it caused cancer when tested on laboratory animals. Back then, the judge ruled that the product warning was required. However, after objections were filed, another California Superior Court judge dismissed the case in 2020.

For regular coffee drinkers, the IARC concluded in 2016 that there was no strong evidence for a link between coffee drinking and cancer. After a review of over 1,000 studies, they decided that coffee should not be classified as a carcinogen. No association was found between coffee drinking and most cancers, while certain studies suggested potentially lowered risks for liver or uterine cancer.