EU Bureaucrats Warn Coffee is ‘Harmful’ for Humans, Sparking Fears of Regulations
According to scientific evidence, officials said in a report, ‘caffeine is harmful to humans if swallowed’. They said the stimulant, a key component of coffee, can be harmful to the heart, cause anxiety and create problems with sleep, hydration, and body temperature.
The report came to support an EU decision made to ban the use of caffeine in pesticides to kill slugs and snails on potato and cabbage patches.
However, it has sparked fears that coffee could soon be directly targeted by EU regulations, as reported by the Telegraph.
Danish MEP Anders Vistisen felt it was an unnecessary intervention by the EU: ‘What is this all leading to? Are they seriously going to eventually force us to drink decaffeinated coffee? It’s becoming ridiculous.’
There is not enough research to say if caffeine is a risk for people who live near where it is processed or work with it, the report said.
Uproar has exploded on social media, with users despairing about when the EU’s meddling will stop.
Chairman of the Tottenham Conservative Association Elliot Hammer weighed in: ‘The EU is coming for your coffee!’
Reform UK member James Bush commented: ‘The geniuses in the European Commission think that “caffeine is harmful if swallowed”. I am glad we’re free of these idiots.’
The ban comes despite research from the National Cancer Institute in the US, Harvard School of Public Health, The Institute for Scientific Information on Coffee, and Goldsmiths, University of London saying drinking coffee can bring active health benefits – not harms.
People who drink six or seven cups of coffee each day were found to be 16 per cent less likely to die from disease within ten years than those who did not, in research by the National Cancer Institute from 2018.
Drinking three or four cups per day was found to reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 27 per cent in a study from The Institute for Scientific Information on Coffee from the same year.
One user was not sure where the meddling would stop after this: ‘Not long ago we were being told a few cups a day (not too many) was good. Caffeine is also in tea and chocolate and possibly other things – are they banning those as well?’
The EU has lost the plot, one user said. Another weighed in firmly, saying: ‘No. This is where the line must be drawn.’
Someone else was also very clear on their feelings on the matter: ‘The only thing harmful for humans, as I see it, as EU regulations.’
One user was entirely dismissive of the attacks on caffeine: ‘Haven’t they got anything better to do? Please f*** off.’
Another felt sure that the continent would not allow the clampdown: ‘I’m quite sure France and Italy won’t permit this.’
And one questioned: ‘EU warns, “Coffee is DANGEROUS for you!” 1,000 years after humans started drinking it, wouldn’t we know for sure by now?’
Anders Vistisen, chief whip of the Patriots For Europe party, also made a comparison to the EU’s attempt to limit coumarin in 2013, a compound found in cinnamon that can be toxic if too much of it is consumed. It would have amounted to a ban on the Danish pastry. Only an outcry from bakers saw the sweet treat re-categorised as a ‘traditional’ food so it could be treated as an exception from the ban.
It would suit everyone much better if many of these matters were left to national competence and personal choice, Mr Vistisen said.
Other EU bans, on titanium dioxide and other food colourings, have hit bakers hard too, forcing them to stop making or at least rework certain recipes.
What are the health benefits of coffee?
Scientific studies into the health effects of coffee are being done all the time and have, in the past, claimed the drink brings fairly big health benefits.
Research by the National Cancer Institute in the US in 2018 found people who drink six or seven cups of coffee each day were 16 per cent less likely to die from disease within a 10-year period than those who didn’t.
Another study, done by the Harvard School of Public Health, found that women who drank four or more cups of coffee per day were 20 per cent less likely to suffer from depression.
British scientists at Goldsmiths, University of London, found women who drank coffee – 250mg of caffeine, to be precise – tended to have a higher pain threshold than those who didn’t.
The Institute for Scientific Information on Coffee said in 2018 it had trawled through nearly 30 studies of almost 1.2million people to find drinking three or four cups of coffee each day could slash the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 27 per cent.
Conclusion
The EU’s warning that coffee is ‘harmful’ for humans has sparked widespread concern and debate. While some have expressed disappointment and frustration with the EU’s decision, others have welcomed the move. However, the general consensus seems to be that the EU has overstepped its bounds and is overregulating a product that is widely enjoyed and has been deemed safe by many scientific studies.
FAQs
- What is the EU’s stance on coffee?
The EU has warned that coffee is ‘harmful’ for humans, citing the stimulant caffeine as a key component that can be harmful to the heart, cause anxiety, and create problems with sleep, hydration, and body temperature. - What is the scientific evidence on the health effects of coffee?
Scientific studies have shown that moderate coffee consumption can bring several health benefits, including reducing the risk of early death, depression, and type 2 diabetes. - Will the EU ban coffee?
The EU has not explicitly banned coffee, but its decision to ban the use of caffeine in pesticides to kill slugs and snails on potato and cabbage patches has sparked fears that coffee could be targeted next. - What do you think about the EU’s warning on coffee? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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