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How did your coffee beans get de-caffeinated ?
Although the majority of coffee drinkers choose the caffeinated format, many want to reduce their caffeine intake and to the de-caff route. Did you know there are 5 different means of removing the caffeine from coffee beans ?
Why should you care, because the two primary solvents used are not ideal for your health. Both dichloromethane and ethyl acetate have significant issues when it comes to negative health-causing potentials and not all coffee indicate which method they use.
Understanding Solvent Extraction in Coffee Decaffeination
When it comes to decaffeinating coffee beans, there are two main methods of solvent extraction: the direct method and the indirect method. Both approaches can leave trace amounts of solvents in the coffee beans. For a detailed explanation and an informative infographic, you can refer to Hasan Javed’s article, “How to Decaffeinate Coffee.”
Safety and Regulations
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) oversees the use of solvents in food products, including coffee. According to the FDA, the use of solvents is considered safe as long as the residual amount in roasted coffee beans does not exceed 10 parts per million (ppm).
However, in January 2024, the FDA received a petition proposing significant changes to food additive regulations. This petition calls for the prohibition or restriction of certain solvents, such as methylene chloride, benzene, ethylene dichloride, and trichloroethylene, due to their links to cancer in humans and animals. The Environmental Defense Fund, Breast Cancer Prevention Partners, Center for Environmental Health, and Environmental Working Group are among the organizations advocating for these changes.
Concerns and Advocacy:
Methylene chloride, in particular, has been identified as a known carcinogen. Advocacy groups, including the Environmental Defense Fund, argue that no amount of this chemical is safe for human consumption. In collaboration with other health and environmental organizations, they filed a petition with the FDA in January 2024 to ban the use of methylene chloride, benzene, ethylene dichloride, and trichloroethylene in food products.
For more insights, the Clean Label Project has published an article examining the presence of methylene chloride in various coffee brands, revealing significant variations in solvent levels between different products.
Ethyl acetate is not classified as a carcinogen by major health organizations, including the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). There are concerns regarding the potential for solvent residues to interact with other compounds found in coffee, which could lead to the formation of harmful byproducts during roasting or brewing. Long-term exposure to ethyl acetate may have adverse effects on the liver and kidneys. This is typically from larger doses vs the ingestion of coffee however the literature is lacking when it comes to coffee consumption.
Solvent Methods:
There are two approaches to solvent extraction of our coffee beans, the direct or the indirect method. The key is that there is some residual amounts of the solvents left in our beans. For a really good explanation and infographic see., Hasan Javed‘s article: How to Decaffinate Coffee for a deeper dive.
The US Food and Drug Administration, which regulates this use case, says that this solvent is safe to use as long as the amount left in roasted coffee beans does not exceed 10 parts per million. In January 2024, the FDA filed a petition proposing a major change to food additive regulations. The petition requests that solvents including methylene chloride, benzene, ethylene dichloride, and trichloroethylene be prohibited or restricted in American food and drugs, as these compounds have been connected to causing cancer in humans and animals. The Environmental Defense Fund, Breast Cancer Prevention Partners, Center for Environmental Health, and Environmental Working Group all advocate for the change. The Clean Label Project has an excellent article that details their examination of coffee for methylene chloride and shows that the amounts vary radically between brands.
Organizations such as the Environmental Defense Fund have argued that because methylene chloride is a known carcinogen, no amount of it is safe for human consumption. In collaboration with other environmental and health advocacy groups, the EDF filed a petition with the FDA in January 2024 to ban methylene chloride, benzene, ethylene dichloride, and trichloroethylene in foods.
As a note, if you see sugar cane decaffeination it’s another approach that uses solvent extraction as part of its decaffeination process.
Brain Considerations with caffeine use:
Speaking of which, a new publication with the title “Repeated caffeine intake suppresses cerebral grey matter responses to chronic sleep restriction in an A1 adenosine receptor-dependent manner: a double-blind randomized controlled study with PET-MRI” specifically used caffeine and chronic sleep deprivation (5 days) and a decrease in gray matter for those getting caffeinated. There was a difference between brains with various levels of adenosine receptor gene variants. This is the area in the body chemically influenced by caffeine. The good news is that the effects on the brains gray matter resolved after adequate sleep and no caffeine was used for a period of time.
What to Do:
If you drink decaff, make a point of asking how they extracted the caffeine. Check the labels or contact the company
You want organic beans to start the process, regardless of whether it’s caffeinated or de-caffeinated
Look for the label stating Swiss water extracted or, no solvents used or C02 extraction methods being used.
