Kernel cyanide bench

Charge

Kernel source

Content basis

Conservative uses the upper literature value. Use it for a safety decision; central is for a best estimate.

Kernel mass

grams

or count

kernels

Batch

Volume

litres

Bottle

Extraction and release

% of the kernel's cyanogenic content that ends up in the beer and stays there. 100% is the worst case and the right default for a safety check.

Drinker

Body weight

Reference dose

per single sitting

Batch HCN potential

–

mg HCN

Beer concentration

–

mg HCN / L

Per bottle

–

mg CN per bottle

Bottle as % of ref. dose

–

Bottles to reach ref. dose

–

in one sitting

Bottles to lowest fatal dose

–

0.56 mg CN/kg bw

Where one bottle lands

EFSA ARfD
0.020 mg/kg

No-effect dose
0.105 mg/kg

Lowest fatal
0.56 mg/kg

Mean fatal
1.52 mg/kg

Log scale, mg cyanide per kg body weight from one bottle at one sitting. The two right-hand anchors are single-dose fatality figures, not a gradient of discomfort.

Backwards: the charge that fits

Max charge, 1 bottle = 1 ref. dose

–

Max charge, 2 bottles = 1 ref. dose

–

Max charge under EU 35 mg/kg limit

–

Computed for the current kernel source, basis, batch volume, bottle size, body weight and extraction assumption.

A calculation aid for food-safety self-assessment, not a clinical or regulatory determination. Kernel content varies severalfold between cultivars and seasons; only an assay of the finished beer measures what is actually in a bottle.