Grinding fresh coffee or harmful

There are more and more specialty shops touting freshly ground coffee, but the attractive aroma hides high levels of caffeine. Tests in Hong Kong Ming Pao show that a cup of ordinary medium-sized ground coffee on the market already has 150 to 200mg of caffeine, of which Starbucks has the highest caffeine concentration. Office workers are refreshed in the morning, afternoon and evening, which is more than double the recommended maximum intake of 300mg for adults.

Doctors warn that excessive caffeine intake can lead to "coffee syndrome" at any time, leading to tension, restlessness, anxiety, hand tremors and insomnia.

Hong Kong Ming Pao reported that at the end of last month, it tested the caffeine in five coffee chains, including Starbucks, Pacific Coffee, PretAManger, McDonald's McCafe and Delifrance's fresh instant coffee.

The results show that Starbucks, which often has a strong coffee flavor in subway stations, sells coffee with the highest caffeine content, with about 260ml medium cup coffee containing 197mg caffeine, followed by McCafe,280 ml medium cup containing 164mg caffeine and third PacificCoffee,290 ml medium cup containing 153mg caffeine.

As for American coffee (White Americano), which has always been considered lighter, PretAManger has a lower caffeine content, with a medium cup of 310ml and only 108mg of caffeine.

It is reported that Taiwan launched the "traffic light" of instant coffee in August this year, indicating that coffee shops should indicate the caffeine content of each type of coffee on the menu, with a green light of less than 100 mg, a yellow light of 100 to 200 mg, and a red light of more than 200 mg. It's best not to drink more than one cup a day. However, none of the major coffee shops in Hong Kong has disclosed the caffeine content of their coffee drinks, making it difficult for the public to make a healthy consumption choice.

As to whether Hong Kong will make reference to Taiwan's experience and encourage business operators to implement a similar "traffic light" system, the Fehd said that "this is not a food safety concern, but it is also a good thing for consumers to provide more information on food ingredients, and the Department welcomes it". The Consumer Council agrees that this is conducive to consumer rights and interests.

According to the EU Food Scientific Committee, caffeine affects the central nervous system, kidney and cardiopulmonary circulatory system. Li Jingyi, a registered dietitian of the Nutrition Research Center of the School of Public Health of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and Liu Feilong, Director of the Hong Kong poisoning Counseling Centre, both pointed out that according to comprehensive medical literature, adult caffeine intake had better not exceed 300 to 400 mg.

Liu Feilong said that long-term excessive caffeine intake may lead to chronic caffeine poisoning, that is, "caffeine syndrome". Symptoms include mental tension, anxiety, hand tremors, muscle tension, insomnia, heart palpitations, and so on. The cause is that the central nervous system is overly alert to the effects of caffeine. He agrees with the caffeine content of open drinks in coffee shops.