## 3 Compositional Data on Date Seeds and Date Seed Coffee Products
### Contaminants
#### 3.5.2 Toxins (Alkaloids and Mycotoxins)
Previous studies have shown that acrylamide is probably carcinogenic to humans (IARC group 2A) [72; 73]. It is known that _C. arabica_ coffee contains a certain amount of acrylamide. An average of 678 \(\upmu\)g/kg soluble coffee and 250 \(\upmu\)g/kg roasted coffee powder was measured in an 8-year consumption study from 2007 to 2015. It has been shown that even high coffee consumption only accounts for 5% of the total AA intake [74]. [PERSON] et al. investigated the potential of AA and melanoidin in coffee beverages made from roasted date seed powder due to the roasting process of date seeds [75]. Five different varieties of roasted date seeds were sampled and compared to _C. arabica_ coffee using the HPLC/PDA method for analysis. The date seed coffee samples contained between 361 and 129 \(\upmu\)g/kg AA (and in the coffee brew, 25 and 68 \(\upmu\)g/L), which is significantly lower than the AA content in _C. arabica_ coffee (1825 \(\upmu\)g/kg, or brew: 346 \(\upmu\)g/L). The melanoidin content was highest in the darker roasts and had a reversed relation with AA [75]. Compared to other study reports, the findings for date seed coffee and _C. arabica_ coffee are relatively high. [PERSON] et al. conducted a study comparing a 100% _C. arabica_ sample to a 100% date seed coffee sample, and three blends with different combinations (10%, 35%, and 50% date seed content) in between [60]. The AA content in the pure _C. arabica_ coffee brew was about 5.1 \(\upmu\)g/100 mL, and decreased in the mixture. The lowest AA content was measured with 1.7 \(\upmu\)g/100 mL in the pure date seed brew [60]. The temperature at which coffee beans are roasted has an impact on the amount of AA present in the final product. [PERSON] et al. conducted a study on the AA levels in different coffee roasts using the standard method EN 16618:2015. The lightest coffee roast had the highest AA content at 470 \(\upmu\)g/kg, while the darker roasts had lower levels. The darkest blend had the lowest AA content at 130 \(\upmu\)g/kg. This confirms the inverse relationship between the AA content and coffee roasting [76]. These results are consistent with those of an EFSA report, which found that light coffee roasts have a high acrylamide content because the AA content decreases as the roasting process continues [77]. In conclusion, the AA content of roasted date seeds is lower or comparable to that of common coffee products [60]. According to regulation (EU) 2017/2158, the AA content of coffee products must be lower than the benchmark level of 400 \(\upmu\)g/kg [78]. Therefore, the literature data on acrylamide in date seed coffee do not suggest a health risk. Data on various known contaminants in date seeds are available. Further studies, especially on the mycotoxin content of roasted date seed products, are still required. However, the available results are sufficient for an initial assessment. Overall, the findings in (roasted) date seeds are in line with comparable coffee products. Safety margins are available for these products, which can cover preliminary coffee beverages made from date seed powder. Further investigations would be of great interest, since there are no data available on the impurities from pesticides, mineral oils (MOSHs/MOAHs), nitrate compounds, or other production-related contaminants such as benzo[a]pyrene.