European consumer research of over 4000 people across 10 European countries, conducted by the Institute for Scientific Information on Coffee (ISIC) to better understand beliefs, behaviours, and knowledge regarding coffee and a healthy diet, suggests consumers are confused about the potential health benefits of coffee, and that healthy diet messages are not always understood.
ISIC invited three eminent experts representing public health nutrition, preventive medicine, and consumer behaviour to further explore the consumer research findings. Audio highlights from the roundtable are detailed below. To read the roundtable report, click here.
Black coffee contains no significant amounts of fat, carbohydrate and protein and therefore contains only 1-2 kcal per 100ml. Adding sugar, milk and cream into the coffee has the biggest impact on the nutritional value of the beverage. Prof Chris Seal, Professor of Food and Human Nutrition, at Newcastle University, UK, discusses the nutritional profile of coffee:
Several large prospective studies suggest that heavy coffee drinkers adopt more unbalanced diets. Prof Chris Seal proposes that comparing coffee drinkers and non-coffee drinkers could shed light on whether coffee may help counteract the detrimental effects of an unbalanced diet:
Prof Lluís Serra-Majem, Director of the Research Institute of Biomedical and Health Sciences at Las Palmas de Gran Canaria University, Spain, recommends a pan-European survey of healthcare professionals, including nutritionists and dietitians, about their knowledge and perception of coffee drinking habits in Europe:
Dr Agnès Giboreau, Research Director at the Institut Paul Bocuse, France, discusses how the context in which coffee is consumed impacts people’s experience of coffee drinking, from tableware to the social setting:
Culture can affect the quantity and way in which coffee is consumed. Dr Giboreau discusses how serving size might differ across Europe, with the Italian espresso being smaller than the French equivalent, for example:
