Recently, a joint test report released by the Fujian Provincial and Municipal Consumer Councils showed that 59 freshly made and sold coffees sold in 20 coffee stores in Fuzhou City were detected to contain a small amount of the class 2A carcinogen "acrylamide".
All 59 coffees were found to be carcinogens", and many netizens began to worry and hesitate to drink the coffee in their hands. In particular, the test products include common chain coffee brands such as Luckin and Starbucks, which further ferments worries.
Is the truth really that scary? Which coffees contain the least acrylamide? Can you still drink coffee with confidence?
Source: Kale** Photography Jia Qiong.
Why does coffee have acrylamide?
It is normal for acrylamide to be detected in coffee, which is related to the processing of the coffee. Green coffee beans contain sucrose and asparagine, both of which undergo a Maillard reaction at high temperatures, and acrylamide is one of the by-products of the Maillard reaction.
The roasting of coffee beans is carried out under high temperature conditions, and it is precisely because of the Maillard reaction that the coffee has a unique aroma. The Maillard reaction produces more than 800 aroma substances, which work together to give coffee a complex and aromatic flavor.
In fact, the original test report has been explained in detail for consumers. According to the report, acrylamide is a chemical produced during the high-temperature heating process of food, such as frying, frying and baking, and it is possible to produce certain amounts of this substance from french fries, toasting and roasting coffee beans.
Coffee bean. Source: Kale** Photography Jia Qiong.
Which coffee is lower in acrylamide?
The amount of acrylamide in coffee can be affected by a variety of factors. For example, the type of raw materials, the degree of baking, the processing method, etc.
In terms of raw materials, different coffee beans are processed to produce different amounts of acrylamide, and there are two types of coffee beans that are mainly commonly used in commercial markets, small-grain coffee (Arabica coffee) and medium-grain coffee (Robusta coffee). Arabica coffee acrylamide content is significantly lower than Robusta coffee. At present, the more popular Yunnan small grain coffee on the market is a type of Arabica coffee.
The degree of roasting of coffee beans is a key factor affecting the acrylamide content. Some researchers roasted Arabica coffee beans using the hot air method, and compared the acrylamide content in coffee beans obtained from light roast (roast for 6 minutes, final temperature 147), medium roast (roast for 11 minutes, final temperature 172), and dark roast (roast for 18 minutes, final temperature 191).
The results showed that the accumulation of acrylamide in moderately roasted coffee beans was the highest, while the acrylamide content in light roasted and dark roasted coffee beans was relatively low.
Why is dark baked acrylamide not high? Due to the long roasting time, asparagine and sucrose were completely consumed, and the content of melanoid gradually increased, and the high temperature promoted the nucleophilic addition reaction of acrylamide and melanoid and the volatilization of acrylamide, which made its content decrease.
Coffee shop employees making coffee. Source: Kale** Photography Jia Qiong.
In terms of processing methods, there are two types of coffee on the market: freshly ground coffee and instant coffee, and different coffee production processes will affect its acrylamide content. On the whole, Turkish coffee "Italian coffee" American coffee.
The aroma and flavor of instant coffee are not as good as freshly ground coffee, and pre-drying, spray drying and other links will lead to the volatilization of some acrylamide, so the acrylamide content of instant coffee is generally lower than that of freshly ground coffee.
Instant coffee. Source: Kale** Photography Jia Qiong.
Are we going to worry about acrylamide?
The report, which was supposed to advocate consumers to buy coffee scientifically and healthily, caused panic. The Fuzhou Municipal Consumer Council issued an article to refute the rumors, saying that according to the World Health Organization research report, acrylamide is listed as a class 2a carcinogen, that is, there is sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity to animals, but there is no direct evidence to prove that acrylamide is carcinogenic to humans. The daily intake of a cup of coffee is within a safe range, and as long as it is not consumed excessively for a long time, there is no obvious health risk to the human body.
At the same time, it is suggested that acrylamide is a class 2A carcinogen, which has the potential to cause cancer but is not necessarily carcinogenic. It's just that some **self** made one-sided propaganda and took the acrylamide in the evaluation results out of context, causing a storm, misleading consumers, and generating unnecessary concerns.
Zhu Danpeng, an analyst of China's food industry, said that any food may have carcinogens, and the carcinogenic risk of coffee must be combined with the dose. It is unscientific and unreasonable to talk about carcinogenicity without dosage, and there is no clinical data to support it.
According to the test report, the acrylamide ratio of 59 coffees was relatively low. As many science popularizers joked, if you want to achieve the risk of cancer, you need to drink more than 10 kilograms of coffee a day to achieve it, and drinking a cup of coffee normally will not increase the risk of cancer.
Popular Science China's "WeChat*** introduced that class 2A carcinogens are not new to us, such as red meat, potato chips, fries, bread pancakes, fried dumplings, fritters, etc., which many people eat every day. Chinese actually drink very little coffee, and the acrylamide ingested through coffee is very small, which is not as much as the fritters and oil cakes they eat in the morning and the stir-fried vegetables they usually eat.
Coffee also has substances that can reduce the occurrence of cancer.
Coffee contains a range of biologically active chemicals, including diterpene caffeol, polyphenols, caffeine, and chlorogenic acid, among others, which may affect health through various mechanisms to reduce the occurrence of cancer.
Some analyses have shown that endometrial cancer risk is significantly inversely associated with caffeinated coffee, but not with decaf coffee. There are also several studies that have found that coffee intake has a protective effect on multiple sites of cancer, especially endometrial cancer, liver cancer, melanoma, oral cancer, and throat cancer.
However, don't choose 3-in-1 coffee, this coffee not only contains coffee powder, but also adds creamer, sugar, oil, etc., and drinking it often will not only make you fat, but also increase the risk of cancer. Survey data shows that people who are Xi to drink 2-in-1 or 3-in-1 instant coffee have a 152% higher risk of breast cancer than those who are not regular coffee drinkers, while those who are Xi to drink freshly brewed coffee have a 52% lower risk of breast cancer.
Exterior view of the coffee shop. Source: Kale** Photography Jia Qiong.
How much coffee is appropriate per day?
At the same time, the test report also revealed some good news, none of the 59 freshly made coffees tested were found to contain trans fatty acids, and the milk and dairy products added to the coffee were of good quality, in line with national regulations.
The Institute of Nutrition and Health of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food Hygiene Branch of the Chinese Preventive Medicine Association and other institutions jointly issued the "Scientific Consensus on Coffee and Health" a few days ago, recommending that the daily caffeine intake of ordinary ** should be controlled within 400mg.
It is equivalent to no more than 4 cups of pure coffee (150ml cups), and the number of cups can be calculated by comparing the caffeine content of each cup on the package label; If it is a small packet of 18 2g of instant coffee, no more than 5 sachets per day.
In addition, coffee is not recommended for children, adolescents, the elderly, pregnant and lactating people, people with high blood pressure, glaucoma patients, people with a genetic predisposition to high intraocular pressure, and osteoporosis patients.
For coffee lovers, there is no need to panic, it is normal for coffee to contain acrylamide, as long as it is not consumed in excess for a long time, there are no obvious health risks. If you're really worried, opt for Yunnan small grain coffee, espresso, Americano or pure instant coffee powder (don't choose 3-in-1!). )。
Perspective Society integrates Fujian Provincial Consumer Rights Protection Commission, Finance Associated Press New Consumption**, Xiaoxiang Morning News, Daily Economic News, and "Popular Science China" WeChat *** report).
Editor: Liu Songling.
Proofreader: Li Xuying.
Review: Gong Zimo.