Pyrethroid and metal residues in different coffee bean preparing processes and their human health risk assessments via consumption

The study was conducted on 50 samples of coffee beans from various origins. The samples included green coffee beans, roasted beans, brew coffee drinks and coffee sludge. Three processes were used to prepare these samples: dried, semi-washed, and washed. Three synthetic pyrethroid insecticides and nine heavy metals were subsequently analyzed using modified Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged and Safe (QuEChERS) and acid digestion methods, respectively. The quantification of pyrethroids was performed by GC-μECD whereas those of metals were determined using flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer. According to the results, concentrations of both pyrethroids and heavy metals were predominantly found in green coffee beans except for Cr. Pyrethroid insecticides were not detectable in brew coffee drink and heavy metal concentrations were below the acceptable daily intake (ADI) level. Risk estimations for daily coffee intake using the health risk indices (HRIs) and target hazard quotients (THQs) of normal and the 97.5 percentile Thai consumers were less than 1. This indicated that the coffee drinks from studied samples could not cause potential health risk.