Decaffeinated coffee: Is it safe to drink despite being chemically processed?

Katie Mogg – The New York Times
Drink coffee Is a component stick of The morning routine of many peopleWhy Provide energy With earthy aromas and nutty flavors.

But drinking a cup of “regular” coffee can have Adverse effectsAbout 230 ml of infusion may contain 80 to 100 mg of caffeine, which can also cause nervousness, anxiety and problems falling asleep.

“For some people, the issue is ‘I want to drink coffee in the afternoon because I really like the taste, but I don’t want to stay up late,'” said Eric Brenner, director of the Center for Coffee Research and Education at UC Davis.

he Decaffeinated coffeewhich is usually at least 97% caffeine-free, is a delicious chooseBut some health advocacy groups have expressed their views Worry go through Chemicals used During the decaffeination process, it may increase the risk of certain types of cancer. Should you be worried?

Photo: Flickr.

hay Various shapes of Making decaffeinated coffeeBut the two most common methods use the chemicals methylene chloride or ethyl acetate to extract and dissolve the caffeine from the beans.

One method is to put coffee beans into Direct contact With sChemical substancesUnroasted green coffee beans are first steamed to expand them and open their pores. The grains are then rinsed in water. Dichloromethane o Ethyl acetate To eliminate the caffeine, Kuhl added.

Next, the beans are steamed again and washed to remove chemical residue, then roasted, Brunner said. The final product often tastes different from regular coffee, but “if it’s done correctly, the variation is minimal,” Kuhl said.

¿They are dangerous Those chemicals? NoAt least not as much as you’d get from decaffeinated coffee, according to experts.

However, people who are exposed to high levels of chemicals like methylene chloride (such as workers who use methylene chloride to remove paint or degrease metal) may have a higher risk of liver cancer, lung cancer, and central nervous system damage.

Photo: Commons.

In the United States, health authorities They banned Most of Uses of dichloromethaneHowever, the chemical can still be used in decaffeinated coffee because food and beverages are primarily regulated by other authorities, which have determined that decaffeinated coffee must not contain more than 0.001% of the chemical.

This means it’s nearly impossible to drink enough decaffeinated coffee to expose yourself to dangerous levels of methylene chloride.

he Ethyl acetateanother chemical used in decaffeination, Neither Spanish Very worryingIt occurs naturally in some fruits, such as kiwi and guava, and is used in products such as nail polish and printing ink, but there is no evidence that it increases the risk of cancer, according to Brenner.

Exposure to ethyl acetate through inhalation, ingestion or skin contact can irritate the eyes, skin or throat, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But the chemical in coffee does not pose a health threat.

Once coffee beans are decaffeinated, traces of the chemicals may remain. But once the beans are roasted, the chemicals evaporate almost completely. “In my opinion, there is no health risk associated with drinking decaffeinated coffee,” said Tonya Kuhl, chair of the chemical engineering department at the University of California.

if Chemical Waste “If coffee still worries you, there are other options,” Brenner said. Some brands use the Swiss Water Process to extract caffeine, which, as the name suggests, uses water rather than potentially toxic chemical solvents to remove the components from the coffee beans.

Brenner explained that the company highlights the process as a marketing pitch because it uses non-toxic ingredients, adding that decaffeinated coffee “No chance of error” No matter how it’s made.

To find out if your coffee beans have been decaffeinated in this way, check the label on the bag. It may say something like “Caffeine-free water” or “Swiss water treatment technology”, its English name.

If after reading the label you’re not sure how decaffeinated coffee is made, you can check the brand or company’s website. “It’s not some big secret,” Brenner says. “All of that information is out there.”