Are you one of those people that starts their morning with a Cup of Joe or maybe you drink coffee by the pot. Whether you enjoy a cup once in awhile or mainline coffee all day, you’re going to want to read this. You might be getting more than you bargained for when you load up on caffeine. OK – Here it is …
PRE-GROUND COFFEE MAY CONTAIN GROUND UP COCKROACHES
Yes, it’s sad but true. The FDA’s own studies show that up to 10% of green coffee beans (and sometimes more) become infested with roaches and other insects. They are unable to process them out completely so they just get roasted and ground up with the beans. It is a well known fact the the FDA allows a certain amount of bug parts in our food as long as it doesn’t exceed a certain percentage. (how lucky are we?) If you’re like me and most other Americans, we get grossed out by the idea of eating bugs. Although they are said to be high in protein and other cultures eat them regularly, America hasn’t quite caught up with that way of thinking. I have written several blogs that touch on the ingestion of insects but it doesn’t make me any closer to accepting that as something I will ever be okay with. Cockroaches can be a trigger for both allergies and asthma. What does it do to someone with these problems to drink cockroach coffee? I’m sure it’s not good.
Whole Bean Coffee – No Surprises!
Is there a way around this? YES! Buy whole bean coffee and grind it at home. This a trend that has become more common as of late. You can get whole bean coffee in many brands and types and there are a variety of coffee grinders on the market. Some say the ceramic coffee grinder is the best.
Foods Colored With Cochineal Extract or Carmine Dyes
Now you might be asking yourself, ‘What about places like Starbucks that grind their beans fresh?’ Good question. That may solve the problem of having roasted roaches and other bugs in your beans but it doesn’t necessarily solve the bug problem as a whole. Have you heard of cochineal extract or carmine dye? Well, these are dyes used in foods and beverages for pink or red coloring. (think strawberry frappuccino) Although it doesn’t end with your coffee drinks. Carmine and cochineal dyes are used in other things like yogurt, jelly, jam, ketchup and ice cream, among many others. So to keep bugs out of your mouth check labels for the words carmine or cochineal extract. They are basically natures answer to Red #40. Oh and if this wasn’t bad enough, they also use this ‘bug dye’ in lipsticks and other cosmetics. But that’s another blog altogether!
Read Your Labels!!!
Because we know that there is a certain amount of insect parts, rodent hairs and fungus in almost all the processed foods we eat, this whole coffee bean thing may not really bother you. And that’s cool, but I feel that we should all be informed and aware of what is in the foods and beverages we put into our systems.
Does the idea of insects in your coffee freak you out? Let us know! We love to hear from you.
