Starbucks Recalls 167,000 Mugs in North America Due to Burn Hazard

A news release from Starbucks indicates that 167,000 coffee mugs in the U.S. and Canada are being recalled because of a design defect that makes these mugs a burn hazard.

The release indicates that the handles on Fusion Coffee Mugs can detach without warning, allowing coffee to spill and burn the user. Thus far, Starbucks has received 23 reports of handles breaking off of these mugs - nine of these cases have resulted in minor burns.

The affected Fusion Coffee Mugs are white, and have a stainless steel base and black plastic handle. They are the 14-ounce size, and have "Starbucks Coffee" printed on a brown original Starbucks logo stamp, or a black stamp. The mugs with a brown Starbucks stamp were sold exclusively at a Starbucks store in Seattle. The mugs with a black Starbucks stamp could have been sold anywhere throughout the United States and Canada.

Fusion Coffee Mugs were sold by Starbucks from February 2007 to November 2007 for about 11 dollars each. They were manufactured in China.

The Starbucks corporation warns consumers to stop using Fusion Coffee Mugs immediately, and contact any Starbucks store or corporate headquarters in Seattle for information on how to return these mugs for a full refund.

If you drink coffee on a regular basis, please know that coffee is ranked sixth on a list of the top twenty acrylamide-rich foods consumed by the U.S. population - this list was released in July of 2006 by the United States Food and Drug Administration.

Acrylamide is a carcinogen that is found in a variety of foods that have been fried or baked at high temperatures. For more information on acrylamide, please feel free to view the following articles:

Acrylamide: What Is It, and Which Foods Contain It?

Frequently Asked Questions & Answers on Acrylamide

Top Twenty Acrylamide-Rich Foods

While I can understand the decision to drink coffee in rare circumstances - like on a day when you are sleep deprived and need to be as alert as possible to drive - I believe that the acrylamide issue alone makes coffee a poor food choice. The bottom line is that regular coffee drinkers have a higher risk of developing a wide variety of health challenges than people who don't drink coffee on a regular basis.

Please share this article with family and friends who regularly drink coffee, especially those who frequent Starbucks. Thank you.