Excessive pesticide residue found in tea products

[auhckw]

I was at a tea shop and the owner said there is some serious problem with tea in China and the government has prohibited the selling of tea. The owner said there will be definitely shortage of tea soon.

So I came back and start digging.... here is the news:-

Excessive pesticide residue found in tea products: Taipei
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/loca ... ticide.htm

Updated Tuesday, September 7, 2010 3:24 am TWN, CNA

TAIPEI -- Three out of 36 tea products tested in the capital contained excessive pesticide residue, according to results of the Taipei City government's latest food safety checks released on Monday.

The substandard products include Jinxuan Oolong from Teatalker on Changchun Road, oolong from the Bade teahouse on Bade Road and oolong from the Taiwan Handicraft Promotion Center chain store at the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, the Taipei City Department of Health report showed.

The products were all found to have excessive amounts of residue of pesticides including fenpropathrin, imidacloprid, methomyl and fipronil.

The city has pulled the products off shelves, prohibited businesses from selling them and launched an investigation into the sources, health officials said.

Chiang Yu-mei, a senior technical specialist at the city health department, said pesticide residue in tea can cause nausea and vomiting, while increasing the risk of liver problems.

She suggests consumers use hot water that is at least 80 degrees Celsius to make tea and to avoid drinking the first round of tea because most pesticides used by local farmers are water soluble.

The local government conducts annual safety checks on randomly selected tea products in the city. In 2008 and 2009, no samples were found to contain excessive pesticide residue, according to city health officials.

Media reports, however, prompted the city to conduct a special test on oolong tea sold at the National Palace Museum souvenir shop in 2009, and the tea was discovered to contain pesticide residue.

[auhckw]

I thought the shop owner is talking about Puerh (as he sells puerh only) having excessive pesticides... He said it is on the news yesterday. I am still digging for the news but with no luck. Maybe is from chinese news paper. If anyone can find it, do post em up.

Meanwhile the news above is talking about Oolong.

[britt]

I read the article twice but didn't see anything about the origin of the affected tea, whether it was from China or Taiwan. Taipei, where the article was published, is in Taiwan.

[Tead Off]

According to this article, less than 10% of the teas tested were found to contain more pesticides than legally allowed. Good, the gov't went around and tested randomly. Those teas should be pulled and the producers will probably be fined (or allowed to pay off the officials) and monitored. There is no mention of organic teas falsely labeled.

Now, what I'd like to see is the Chinese gov't doing similar actions so they get some legitimacy in their tea trade and export trade overall.

[brandon]

"I was at a tea shop and the owner said tea is discovered to be even better than fuel cells. Once people find out, there will be a shortage of tea. Better buy some quick!"

Just sayin'.

[auhckw]

"I was at a tea shop and the owner said tea is discovered to be even better than fuel cells. Once people find out, there will be a shortage of tea. Better buy some quick!"

Just sayin'.

[Chip]

I am sure we would all like to know more about it, a lot more, including the nation of origin, etc.

It is good to see some transparency!

If almost 10% of the teas tested (3 out of 36) were above the legal limit, wouldn't you think they would extend the testing well beyond the original 36, I mean that is a huge % of contaminated tea. HUGE!

The potential health risk to the public is too substantial to simply sweep this under the proverbial carpet and conduct another random group testing in 2011!!!

These are water soluble pesticides ...

Where is the freakin' panic button!

The more this is discussed on international public forums and media outlets the better! There clearly needs to be continual pressure.

[alan logan]

generally and whatever the country or food involved, I'm always surprised about the "legal limits" concept for pesticides. above legal limits or within legal limits, it doesn't change much the problem. Legal limits are nothing else but a compromise between big interests and too much visibility of the consequences. "legal limits" are nothing but those that would draw the line between crippling/dying rapidly from obvious cause and doing just about the same but on a much longer term with multifactorial thus less directly identifiable causes.
The later the bomb explodes, the better, that's what "legal limits" say. but how about not making the bomb in the first place ? I would be happy to have a legal something say that.
The only tolerable limit is : zero.

[xmfi]

I read the article twice but didn't see anything about the origin of the affected tea, whether it was from China or Taiwan.

Presumably the tea being sold at "Taiwan Handicraft Promotion Center chain store" is from Taiwan.

It's not pleasant to think about, but potential exposure to harmful chemicals (not just pesticides) from tea is reality and, in my opinion, deserves more attention and acknowledgment. (Especially when many tea drinkers think they are doing something positive for their health.) There's no reason to assume that tea-growing areas aren't subject to the same-- and often very serious-- environmental issues seen elsewhere. Whether and how such issues can be alleviated is a gigantic question; in the meantime, there should at least be a greater awareness of what we may be exposing ourselves to.

[Kunkali]

I hope japan's better about that stuff....that's where I mostly get my teas from.

[Tead Off]

If almost 10% of the teas tested (3 out of 36) were above the legal limit, wouldn't you think they would extend the testing well beyond the original 36, I mean that is a huge % of contaminated tea. HUGE!

Less than 10% is not that huge and in Taiwan, you have organically grown(both certified and non-certified) to choose from. Can you imagine what that figure might be in China?

I fully agree with Alan, though. Zero pesticides is the only acceptable figure. When I read that organic tea is not as tasty as pesticide ridden tea, I can only shake my head in disbelief. This is pure bull....

[Chip]

If almost 10% of the teas tested (3 out of 36) were above the legal limit, wouldn't you think they would extend the testing well beyond the original 36, I mean that is a huge % of contaminated tea. HUGE!

Less than 10% is not that huge and in Taiwan

10% is huge given all the untested teas that were NOT pulled.

[xmfi]

I fully agree with Alan, though. Zero pesticides is the only acceptable figure. When I read that organic tea is not as tasty as pesticide ridden tea, I can only shake my head in disbelief. This is pure bull....

Why is it that organic tea is so commonly thought of as being inferior to non-organic tea? A myth perpetuated by large-scale farms and pesticide manufacturers? I've only had a few organic teas, mostly from Japan and a couple from Taiwan, but I found them to be at least as good as any non-organic tea I've had.

[AdamMY]

Why is it that organic tea is so commonly thought of as being inferior to non-organic tea? A myth perpetuated by large-scale farms and pesticide manufacturers? I've only had a few organic teas, mostly from Japan and a couple from Taiwan, but I found them to be at least as good as any non-organic tea I've had.

Well is not so much the fact that pesticides are not being used that make them "inferior" it is that being certified organic also determines what fertilizers can be used. So my understanding is that until they developed better "organic" fertilizers, it was the case that the non organic fertilizers could put out so much more nutrients for the plants to grow.

So now the organic/ inorganic difference is now thought to be less of an issue and rather up to personal preference.

[Chip]

I fully agree with Alan, though. Zero pesticides is the only acceptable figure. When I read that organic tea is not as tasty as pesticide ridden tea, I can only shake my head in disbelief. This is pure bull....

Why is it that organic tea is so commonly thought of as being inferior to non-organic tea? A myth perpetuated by large-scale farms and pesticide manufacturers? I've only had a few organic teas, mostly from Japan and a couple from Taiwan, but I found them to be at least as good as any non-organic tea I've had.

I cannot speak for all tea and regions, but historically ... recent history ... the vast majority of teas were grown with chemicals, nonorganically. I can tell you, organic teas have come a long way!!!

Organic is not neccesarily always perfect either, as mentioned a lot on the forum, there is corruption even with organic products. And excessive organic treatments can be unhealthful. Also whose standards and certs are on the teas?

Just because a tea is called organic, this does not always make it better for you.

In a perfect world, everything would be organic, healthful and as labeled. We just do not live in this perfect world ... yet.

As Adam mentioned, a big factor in taste is the fertilizers, and there have been improvements in this area.