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Directive 2009/32/EC on extraction solvents used in foodstuffs

European Parliament and Council · 2009 · legislation.gov.uk

The regulation that governs which solvents may be used to decaffeinate coffee sold in the EU, and at what residue levels. It is the document that decides whether "chemical free" on a bag means anything.

How much weight this carries

Well established. Safe to rely on as stated.

What it says

  • Ethyl acetate is permitted under Good Manufacturing Practice with no numeric residue limit — Annex I Part I. This is a looser control than the named limits below.
  • Dichloromethane is limited to 2 mg/kg in roasted coffee
  • Methyl acetate is limited to 20 mg/kg
  • Carbon dioxide is listed alongside ethyl acetate in Annex I Part I — It leaves no residue, so the GMP condition is trivially met.

What it does not say

  • It does not certify any process. Swiss Water and Mountain Water fall outside it entirely because they use no extraction solvent — that is an exemption, not an endorsement.
  • "No numeric residue limit" for ethyl acetate does not mean unlimited. It means the limit is a manufacturing-practice obligation rather than a number.

Recorded because the errors in this subject all point one way: toward claims more confident and more flattering to decaf than the evidence supports.

This is the source that settles most of the marketing arguments about decaf. The important asymmetry: the water processes are unregulated by this directive because it only governs solvents, which is a very different claim from being certified safe by it.

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