Activists are asking the FDA to ban a harmful chemical used to decaffeine coffee. But experts say there is no need to panic.
       As more people turn to decaffeinated coffee for health reasons or personal preference, there is growing interest in methods to remove caffeine from coffee beans and its health effects.
       Environmental activist groups recently asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to consider banning the chemical commonly used to make decaffeinated coffee.
        The Environmental Protection Agency recently banned the industrial use of this chemical, methylene chloride, because it can cause some cancers, neurotoxicity, liver damage and sometimes death. “There are other options,” said Jacqueline Bowen, executive director of the Clean Label Project, a nonprofit that advocates for alternatives to using methylene chloride to decaffeinate coffee.
        But that doesn’t necessarily mean your decaf habit is in danger. Below is information about methylene chloride and available alternatives.
        To remove caffeine, you will need some kind of solvent. Soaking coffee beans in a hot solvent mixture helps extract the caffeine molecules, leaving the coffee decaffeinated after the solvent is removed.
       “There are essentially four main solvents used,” says Meredith Worthington, executive editor of ConsumerLabs.com.
        These include methylene chloride, also known as the European method, which is the most widely used; ethyl acetate, sometimes called a “natural solvent” because it is found in many fruits such as bananas and sugar cane, and the “Swiss water” method; , which uses hot water extraction of caffeine, and the carbon dioxide method, which uses liquid carbon dioxide; Depending on the method, this can affect both the taste and chemical composition of the coffee.
        Methylene chloride has long been the most widely used method, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulates residues in decaffeinated coffee at no more than 10 parts per million. Independent tests of coffee brands consistently find methylene chloride levels below FDA limits.
        Not everyone agrees that methylene chloride should be banned from decaf coffee. As the National Coffee Association wrote in a recent press release: “Strong scientific evidence shows that drinking European-style decaf coffee, like any other coffee, can provide significant health benefits, including longer life and a reduced risk of many types of cancer.” and chronic diseases. »
        However, Worthington said, “Some people just don’t like it, especially when there are other methods that don’t create any of the solvents of concern. There are many companies that only use water in the extraction process.”
        Another major concern among advocates is that many people who switch to decaf are already more susceptible to trace amounts of the chemicals. This includes pregnant women and people with medical conditions who may decide to switch to decaf for health reasons.
       As a result, large coffee companies such as Peet’s Coffee are increasingly using alternative methods such as the Swiss water method due to consumer concerns.
       Aside from concerns about using methylene chloride for decaffeination, there may be some slight differences in health benefits depending on the process used.
        ConsumerLabs.com tested the effects of different types of decaffeination processes on green tea, which uses the same process as coffee beans. “We found that brands of tea that contain no caffeine and no ethyl acetate tend to have lower levels of EGCG, which is the active ingredient in green tea and is believed to have health benefits,” Worthington said. “Supposedly the same problem exists with coffee.”
        In another study published in 2010, researchers looked at the levels of antioxidants called phenols in coffee. They found that the level of antioxidants in decaf coffee did vary depending on the extraction method used, although not by much. Decaffeinated coffee prepared using the Swiss water or methylene chloride method has slightly lower phenolic content than coffee prepared using ethyl acetate or liquid carbon dioxide. However, in all of these methods, decaffeinated coffee retained more than 80% of its original antioxidant levels compared to regular coffee.
        In the meantime, people who want to know how their favorite brand of decaf coffee turns out can visit CheckYourDecaf.org or contact the coffee company. As Bowen notes, clean label projects are also pushing coffee companies to list the type of decaffeination process on their labels so consumers can make informed decisions.
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