Understanding Mycotoxins in Everyday Foods and Coffee
Mycotoxins might sound like a complex term, but they're something everyone should know about, especially if you enjoy foods like nuts, cereals, spices, coffee and even our precious decaf coffee. Mycotoxins are toxic substances produced by molds—yep, the same type of mold you might find on old bread—but these can grow under warm and humid conditions right on the crops before they even reach your kitchen.
Imagine tiny, invisible toxins that certain molds produce. These molds grow on various foods, particularly in warm and damp environments. Common mycotoxins include names you might not have heard of, like Aflatoxins and Ochratoxin A. Each has its risks, but, for example, Aflatoxins are particularly notorious for being highly poisonous and cancer-causing, especially affecting the liver.
The impact of these mycotoxins on health is significant. They can cause immediate and severe illness if ingested in large amounts or lead to long-term health issues such as cancer, weakened immune systems, and chronic kidney and liver problems. The World Health Organization (WHO) regards the presence of mycotoxins in food as a significant public health concern, especially in areas prone to hot and humid climates which encourage mold growth.
Coffee is a product that is somewhat at risk to this, think about a crop grown in tropical climates, the coffee cherries are removed leaving some amount of sugar content on the beans inside, it's then washed or sun dried and shipped at around 10-11.5% moisture content.
It's not something you should be concerned about because the way we distribute coffee around the world is a lot better, using breathable hessian sacks or even grain pro plastic liners which allow moisture but not in.
Decaf is in a unique situation where it's then sent off to another facility after the farmers have done their awesome work to now remove the caffeine, this process contains a fair bit of water again.
Our current Mycotoxin Free range is specifically from Swiss Water Process and is our Organic lineup. The team at Swiss Water Process actually send their decafs to a lab after decaffeination has been completed to confirm the decafs are Mold free. But the journey isn't over yet!
We're in Australia, Swiss Water Process is in Canada, that's a lonnnnggggg journey in a big steel container over many kilometers of oceans in sun soaked weather potentially creating another environment for molds to grow.
As the decaf's journey ends in our warehouse, we've decided to take samples of the roasted beans and send it to a Government Accredited Independent Laboratory. We've paid the team there to do the test and show that the decafs are in fact Mycotoxin Free with undetectable amounts of Aflatoxin and Ochratoxin. So for those of you who are really concerned about this, know that choosing our mycotoxin-free decaf isn’t just about enjoying a delicious cup of coffee—it’s about making a healthier lifestyle choice.
We use the safest, most natural decaffeination processes like the Swiss Water Process, which doesn't involve harmful chemicals. This method keeps the coffee 100% natural and safe while retaining all the wonderful flavors you love.
Enjoying a cup of our mycotoxin-free decaf means you can relax, knowing that not only are you drinking high-quality decafs, but you're also avoiding the risks that come with Mycotoxins.
So just know that we're really going out of our way to make sure you're getting the best product you possibly can. We really do care about what you're consuming and will continue to increase and test our range of Mycotoxin Free options.
