In 2016, single-dose coffee was included in the CPI calculation, making official what was already evident: the capsule coffee machine is just another element in the kitchen. The sector continues to grow, and now reaches 37.3% of consumers and, although the average expenditure on “conventional” coffee still exceeds single-dose coffee (55% and 45% of the market are distributed, respectively), the figures are close to .
The battle of the leading brands to maintain the exclusivity of their system against compatible capsules is understandable, although several rulings have proved non-original single-dose manufacturers right, expanding the market.
The ease of use, the variety of options and the cleanliness of the process are essential parts of its success, but the key is a positioning strategy through segmentation, targeting very different audiences, creating their needs and meeting the aspirations of all of them. .
In variants like ‘stained‘ The ‘lattes‘ coffee is the least of it and they can contain cream, coconut fat or sugar (sometimes more than 30% of the content)
If we talk about macronutrients (proteins, carbohydrates and fats), the nutritional value of coffee is insignificant. What is interesting is its content of bioactive compounds (caffeine included) due to its physiological effects, and this is highly variable depending on the variety of grain, roasting or preparation method (among others).
In any case, when you analyze coffee from a nutritional point of view, you are studying exactly that, coffee. Not all the dressings that can accompany you.
Much of the coffee capsules contain only coffee. They are well identified, because they do not have the obligation to show the list of ingredients, nor do they specify the nutritional value. However, unhealthy products are also sneaked into the huge supply of single-dose products under the guise of innocent coffee capsules.
If you can find a thousand options to make a cup of coffee, it is even more complicated to choose drinks that also have other ingredients. The differences between them are not only in the organoleptic properties (the body, flavor or aroma of the coffee are differentiating characteristics of black coffees, but remain in the background in mixed drinks), but also in their nutritional profile. We can find cut or milk coffees that are quite similar to those we would prepare at home. But in creative variants like stained, mochas, cappuchinos The lattes, coffee is the least of it, and they can contain cream, coconut fat or sugar (sometimes more than 30% of the content of the capsule). Ingredients with which we would rarely prepare a coffee and that, in the comfort and anonymity (they are there, but they cannot be seen) of the capsules, we can incorporate daily into the diet without realizing it. Again, the list of ingredients will help us make a conscious choice.
Do they expose us to pollutants?
Fear is the engine behind hoaxes and the reason they spread so easily and persist over time. One of them related the use of coffee capsules made with aluminum, with the risk of cancer. Something complicated, because although the IARC does consider that the production of aluminum is a carcinogenic activity for humans (because in the process there is exposure to other compounds such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and asbestos), it leaves dietary aluminum out of this classification.
Its neurotoxic effects are recognized, and for this reason the European Food Safety Authority has established a tolerable weekly intake (TWI) of 1mg/kg body weight. The greatest exposure to aluminum is from the diet, but its largest contributors are grains, fruits and vegetables, beverages (other than water), and food additives, not food contact materials. Precisely because it is known that a part of the population could be exceeding the TWI, the regulation is especially guaranteeing and restrictive with the migration of aluminum from containers, utensils and other materials, and reduces it to 10% of what would be considered acceptable in normal conditions. That includes coffee pods.
The cup of capsule coffee contained more caffeine than that prepared in an Italian coffee machine (between two and three times higher)
The other side of the coin is found in two compounds that are carcinogenic and can appear in coffee. In all coffee (not just in capsules). They are furan and acrylamide.
Furan is a compound that appears in jarred and canned foods, as well as coffee, and is considered “possibly carcinogenic.” It is very volatile, so the greater the contact with the air, the lower the amount of furan; That is why the way of preparing food determines its final concentration. Thus, pot coffee has less quantity than filter or espresso. Coffee in capsules also has high levels as it is practically isolated from the atmosphere until the moment of consumption.
For its part, acrylamide is a “probably carcinogenic” compound that appears when foods containing reducing sugars and amino acids are heated above 120ºC. That is, in the frying, roasting and baking of many products, including coffee. With the added drawback that the coffee roasting conditions directly affect its quality, and it is difficult to reduce the acrylamide content without negatively affecting its properties.
The French Food Safety Agency has evaluated the exposure to chemical compounds from the consumption of coffee in capsules and, in addition to finding no contaminants such as phthalates or bisphenol A, determined that the level of cobalt, chromium, nickel, tin, copper, zinc and also of acrylamide, was slightly higher but not significant in the capsules, compared to traditional coffee. It did determine that the cup of capsule coffee contained more caffeine than that prepared in an Italian coffee machine (between two and three times higher), a value very similar to that obtained in coffee made with an espresso machine.
Both acrylamide and furan are considered a concern by EFSA, but coffee is only one of the foods that expose us to these compounds (and the contribution of coffee capsules is highly variable).
environmental damage
The most immediate problem with single-serve coffee is sustainability. The capsules contain organic matter (coffee remains) and are made of various materials (aluminum and different types of plastic), which makes recycling difficult and limits it to clean points or the initiatives of the brands themselves, which have collection programs and management of used capsules. This requires a commitment from the consumer to store and take the waste to specific points and, in addition, it must be considered that the environmental footprint is not only due to the physical material, but also to its manufacturing process, transport, reverse logistics and recycling.
The most immediate problem with single-serve coffee is sustainability. They contain materials that make it difficult to recycle
To reduce its impact, initiatives are being launched that range from the manufacture of compostable capsules, to legislative proposals that prohibit their use in public buildings (Hamburg was a pioneer in 2016) or restrict their sale (in Spain Navarra, the Valencian Community or Balearic Islands).
But, if the factors behind the success of this coffee consumption formula have been the strategy of large companies and the choice of consumers, it is these same elements that can lead the coffee capsule sector to a more sustainable model.
It would not be bad if, when choosing a coffee, in addition to worrying about our own health and that of the planet, we would also do so for that of the people who live from its cultivation. Bothering to find out if with our daily gestures we are contributing to generating value in a society or if, on the contrary, we are perpetuating inequalities. Perhaps this should be a priority reason in our choice.
Beatrice Robles (@beatrizcalidad) is a food technologist, has a master’s degree in food safety auditing and is an enthusiast of scientific dissemination (www.seguridadalimentariaconbeatriz.com)
NUTRITION WITH SCIENCE It is a section on food based on scientific evidence and the knowledge contrasted by specialists. Eating is much more than a pleasure and a necessity: diet and eating habits are now the public health factor that can most help us prevent many diseases, from many types of cancer to diabetes. A team of dietitians-nutritionists will help us to better understand the importance of food and, thanks to science, to break down the myths that lead us to eat poorly.