Coffee bean CRM. Credit: Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS)
The world's first coffee bean certified reference material (CRM) has been developed at the Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS). The CRM can be used to accurately quantify the nutritional and harmful elements in coffee beans.
Certified reference materials are used around the world to provide a reference to verify the accuracy of analytical methods. The new coffee bean CRM can be used to accurately measure five nutritional elements: calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, and copper. The CRM will also allow for the accurate analysis of harmful elements such as lead, mercury, and cadmium.
In the article, published in Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, the researchers freeze-dried raw coffee beans and subsequently ground them to achieve a homogenous sample. Once purified with irradiation the researchers achieved excellent stability and homogeneity in the new CRM.
Despite coffee being consumed worldwide, a CRM for the elemental analysis of coffee has been absent until now. The coffee bean CRM developed will have worldwide applications to enhance quality control in coffee and coffee products by enhancing measurement reliability and will also drive coffee research worldwide.
"This achievement represents a technological advancement that can significantly improve the quality control level of coffee, a popular beverage as well as a heavily imported product,” said Dr. Kyoung Seok Lee, the director of the Division of Chemical and Biological Metrology.