Occupational contact dermatitis due to coffee.

The article cites the case of a 39-year-old woman presented with chronic hand dermatitis, who had been working in a coffee bar for 12 years. Allergic contact dermatitis and protein contact dermatitis are frequent among food handlers. But contact dermatitis from coffee powder of from the drink is very rare. Many chemical changes occur during coffee roasting and preparation of the drink. The heterogeneous chemical composition of coffee makes identification of the constituents actually responsible for contact allergy very difficult.