Mold & High-Risk Foods: Coffee

Coffee has become one of the most discussed foods in conversations about mold exposure, and for good reason. From harvest to your morning cup, coffee beans pass through fermentation, drying, shipping, storage, roasting, and packaging. Each step can influence the amount of mycotoxins that remain in the finished product, making quality control one of the biggest factors separating one coffee from another.

Research has shown that contamination levels can vary considerably even between coffees grown in the same region, depending on how they are harvested, processed, stored, and tested. Roasting destroys much of the mold itself and can significantly reduce certain mycotoxins. However, ochratoxin A, the mycotoxin most commonly associated with coffee, is relatively heat stable, meaning roasting may reduce it but does not necessarily eliminate it completely.

This variability is one reason Dave Asprey and other functional medicine advocates have encouraged consumers to seek out coffee that undergoes rigorous third-party mycotoxin testing. While researchers continue to study exactly how much low-level mycotoxin exposure contributes to certain symptoms, it’s better to be safe than sorry — especially when one has a chronic illness like Lyme disease. Choosing a tested coffee is a practical way to reduce one potential source of unnecessary toxin exposure.

Practical Tips

• Look for companies that publicly discuss third-party mycotoxin testing and quality-control practices.
• Store coffee in an airtight container away from heat, humidity, and direct sunlight.

A Few Coffee Brands That Emphasize Mycotoxin Testing (not affiliated):

• Danger Coffee — Our personal favorite. They explicitly state every batch is third-party tested for mold toxins, mycotoxins, heavy metals, glyphosate, and over 500 pesticides.
• Purity Coffee — Sells organic specialty-grade beans explicitly labeled as third-party tested for yeast, mold, mycotoxins (specifically Ochratoxin A), heavy metals, and pesticides.
• Natural Force Clean Coffee — Markets a specific “Clean Coffee” line explicitly stated to be tested for mold, mycotoxins (Aflatoxin and Ochratoxin A), gluten, heavy metals, acrylamide, and over 300 pesticides.

At Jernigan Nutraceuticals, we believe minimizing unnecessary toxin exposure is a worthwhile goal whenever practical. Even if mycotoxins aren’t the primary cause of someone’s symptoms, choosing a coffee that is carefully sourced and tested simply removes one more variable that doesn’t need to be there.

References

• [1] Bucheli P, Taniwaki MH. Research on the Origin, and on the Impact of Post-Harvest Handling and Manufacturing on the Presence of Ochratoxin A in Coffee. Food Additives & Contaminants. 2002;19(7):655–665.
• [2] Taniwaki MH, Pitt JI, Teixeira AA, Iamanaka BT. The Source of Ochratoxin A in Brazilian Coffee and Its Formation in Relation to Processing Methods. International Journal of Food Microbiology. 2003;88(2–3):173–179.
• [3] van der Stegen GHD, Essens PJM, van der Lijn J. Effect of Roasting Conditions on Reduction of Ochratoxin A in Coffee. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 2001;49(10):4713–4715.
• [4] López-Rodríguez C, et al. Reduction in Ochratoxin A Occurrence in Coffee. Journal of Fungi. 2024.
• [5] Massahi T, et al. A Worldwide Systematic Review of Ochratoxin A in Various Coffee Products. Food Control. 2024.
• [6] Asprey D. One Ugly Mug: The Science Behind Just One Mold Toxin in Your Coffee.