Coffee Pods, Plastic and Hormones: What the Research Says
As more people use coffee pods for their morning cup of coffee, some are asking whether chemicals from the plastic can end up in their coffee. Here’s what has been reported so far.
Coffee pods are convenient, but because many are made with plastic and brewed with very hot water, some people wonder whether chemicals from the pod can end up in their cup. Researchers have looked at this question, and the short version is that small amounts of certain chemicals have been detected, at levels the researchers considered low.
What Researchers Have Looked At in Plastics
Scientists have studied for years whether chemicals can move from plastic food and drink containers into what they hold. A 2011 study in Environmental Health Perspectives tested more than 500 plastic products (not coffee pods) and reported that most of them released chemicals with estrogenic activity in a lab test, and that common stresses like microwaving and UV light increased that release.
Heat is a common theme in this research, which is why coffee pods come up: a pod machine pushes very hot water through the capsule to brew your cup.
Capsule Brewing Requires High Temperatures
A 2020 study in Toxicology Reports tested coffee made from 22 capsule coffee brands and 15 French press coffees. It detected five estrogenic chemicals in the capsule coffee, including benzophenone and bisphenol A (BPA), while only BPA and bisphenol F turned up in the French press samples.
Importantly, the researchers concluded that exposure to these chemicals from coffee is minimal and that the potential risk to health is likely to be low relative to established safety guidelines.
What About BPA?
BPA is a chemical that has been used in some plastics and can linings, and it gets a lot of attention. The FDA says BPA is safe at the current levels occurring in foods. The FDA no longer authorizes BPA in baby bottles, sippy cups and infant formula packaging, but it explains that this was because manufacturers had stopped using it there, not because of a safety finding.
Detecting a Chemical vs. Showing Harm
Finding a chemical in a drink is not the same as showing that it causes harm. The amount matters, and the levels reported in the capsule coffee study were low relative to established safety guidelines.
Research into food-contact plastics is ongoing, so it’s worth keeping an eye on what regulators like the FDA say over time.
How Much Does This Impact Your Cup of Coffee?
Based on what has been published so far, the amounts found in capsule coffee appear to be small.
Still, some people would simply rather not have hot water pass through plastic on its way to their cup, and that’s a personal choice. If that’s you, there are plenty of easy ways to make coffee without a pod.
Coffee Can Easily be Made Without the Pod
If you would rather skip the plastic pod, you can simply make your coffee the old-fashioned way. There is nothing stopping anyone from ditching the pods and making a pot of coffee that does not use a plastic container to brew the grounds. Coffee has been a staple of many cultures for many generations, long before pod machines came along.
If you love coffee but want to skip the pod, you can replace your pod-style coffee maker with a traditional coffee pot or a French press. There are many ways to avoid the plastic pod when making coffee.
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This article is for general information only and isn't medical or nutritional advice. If you have questions about caffeine, your diet or a health condition, talk to your doctor.
