Brazil's Ministry of Agriculture has declared 23 batches from four roasted coffee brands unfit for consumption due to excessive impurities. Consumers should stop using the products and request replacements. The action underscores ongoing quality issues in the country's coffee sector.
On December 22, 2025, Brazil's Ministry of Agriculture, Pecuária and Abastecimento (Mapa) announced that 23 batches of roasted coffee from the brands Terra da Gente, Jalapão, Made in Brazil, and Q-Delícia are unfit for human consumption. The ruling stems from inspections detecting foreign materials and impurities exceeding the 1% limit established by the official classification standard for roasted coffee.
The affected batches comprise 18 from Terra da Gente, two from Jalapão, two from Made in Brazil, and one from Q-Delícia. Foreign materials include unrelated debris such as grains or seeds from other plants, sand, stones, or clods. Impurities consist of elements from the coffee plant, like husks and sticks.
Solveig, owner of Terra da Gente, stated that the flagged batches are old and no longer circulating in the market. "All current batches undergo rigorous quality controls, with laboratory reports confirming their full compliance with legal standards and food safety," the company said.
Owners of Jalapão, Made in Brazil, and Q-Delícia did not respond to inquiries by publication time.
In addition, Mapa seized over 21 tons of irregular roasted and ground coffee during a public procurement in Curitiba, Paraná, in early December. Another state inspection confiscated more than 1,500 500-gram packages with impurity levels over seven times the legal limit, without naming specific brands.
Following laboratory confirmation of irregularities, the protocol involves audits of producers, potentially leading to seizures of raw materials, finished products, and facility interdictions. The ministry identifies the primary cause as low-quality raw materials used by some roasters, incorporating husks, straws, and processing residues irregularly.
Mapa advises checking product origins, labels, and suspiciously low prices. Suspected irregularities should be reported via the Fala.BR channel, including the establishment's name and address.
