How Your Morning Cup of Coffee Could Be Making The People Who Roast It Sick

A naturally occurring chemical is linked to a fatal type of lung disease.

Much ado has been made about coffee's numerous health benefits — but it might not be so good for the people who actually produce it.

A new study shows that commercial coffee roastery workers are more susceptible to a fatal type of lung disease linked to exposure to dangerous chemicals, reports the Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal Sentinel. Researchers from the CDC looked at 69 employees from a Tyler, Texas coffee roasting plant and found that 11 of them had the rare disease, known as bronchiolitis obliterans; five workers from the plant were already diagnosed with the condition back in 2011 and 2012. The findings were published Monday in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine.

The disease is linked to two chemicals, diacetyl and 2,3-pentanedione, that occur naturally in coffee; per the Journal Sentinel, they are "byproduct[s] of fermentation and are found in butter, wine, beer and other foods and drinks." Synthetic versions of the ubstances are also used to give foods a buttery flavor. Diacetyl was linked to several cases of bronchiolitis obliterans that affected workers in a microwave popcorn plant back in the early 2000s, which is why the disease is often referred to as "popcorn lung."

"We used to know butter flavor was an issue. Now we're learning the naturally occurring (type) is also a concern we should be on the lookout for," a CDC spokesperson told the Journal Sentinel. The health institute issued a warning to those who work in coffee processing facilities in September, pointing out that sometimes workers with the rare lung disease are first misdiagnosed with other conditions like asthma or pneumonia.

The Journal Sentinel, which is publishing an ongoing investigative series on the U.S. government's failure to regulate diacetyl as a known dangerous chemical, reports that the substance is also found in e-cigarettes. While the barista that makes your morning latte may be at risk for repetitive stress injuries, clearly the potential dangers facing the workers who are responsible for roasting the beans are much more serious.

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