Coffee is a morning pick-me-up for many, but when people discover coffee could be contaminated with cockroaches – a cup of caffeine seems to spark not just energy but a sense of fear!
A doctor specializing in allergy treatment and immunology explained that pre-ground can contain cockroaches, but a lot of foods that humans eat have contamination with insect materials. In fact, humans consume a wide variety of insects every day! So it’s really not as creepy as it sounds.
Your coffee could be contaminated with cockroaches
TikTok creator @officialblackheart shared a short clip spreading awareness that people with shellfish allergies are also allergic to cockroaches, meaning they cannot have pre-ground coffee beans, because “there is a 10% contamination of cockroaches.”
A pediatric allergist/clinical immunologist named Dr. Rubin, MD (@rubin_allergy) reacted to the TikTok video, explaining that if you’re allergic to shellfish, you’re most likely allergic to a muscle fiber protein called tropomyosin. Tropomyosin protein is found in other insects such as cockroaches.
Allergenic tropomyosins are found in invertebrates such as crustaceans (shrimp, lobster, crab, crawfish), arachnids (house dust mites), insects (cockroaches), and mollusks (e.g. squid), as explained in a PubMed article.
It’s true! Shellfish-allergic people can develop an insect allergy as well and be allergic to cockroaches or house dust mites, or land snails. Shellfish allergies tend to be severe and lifelong allergies.
Dr. Rubin confirms that pre-ground coffee can contain cockroaches, and it is impossible to necessarily make sure that it is completely pure.
Pre-ground coffee is whole coffee beans that are ground before packing, meaning the coffee has been ground a few days before the customer opens the bag.
Although this may shock some people, a lot of foods that humans eat have contamination with insect materials in general. So it can be perfectly normal and healthy!
If you have a shellfish allergy and are wondering if you will also react to ground-coffee as well, researchers still don’t have a clear answer. Dr. Rubin suggests you should recognize if you feel like you’re getting sick after drinking coffee because could be due to the cross-contamination of cockroaches.
Humans consume insect matter in a lot of food
The comment section of the viral video is filled with shock, not only due to the shellfish allergy information, but mainly due to the fact cockroaches could be in pre-ground coffee!
One user jokingly wrote: “The best part of waking up is definitely not cockroaches in my cup.”
This reportedly occurs with coffee because large piles of beans get infested with cockroaches and, according to a professor of biology speaking in a science podcast, it is impossible to remove them completely. So they are simply ground up with the coffee beans.
Some may argue that American and European people are too easily grossed out by bugs, considering that other cultures eat them, and the fact that they are an excellent source of protein and certain nutrients.
An organization called Terro estimates that an individual could consume as many as 140,000 pieces of insect matter per year.
This is due to the nature of food production and the regulatory standards of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which allows for a small amount of insect material that is guaranteed safe for human consumption to pass into our food.
Doctor Zachary Rubin, MD, is a double board-certified pediatrician specializing in allergy treatment and immunology.
