Dangers of Pu-erh

[silverneedles]

Does anyone know of instances where someone was Dx'ed with illness related to the bacteria in Pu Ehr or any tea?

probably not

any bacteria would not last long on stored tea and any disease would be acute, temporary(most often).

the "greater" concern related to certain fungal toxins - aflatoxin(produced only by certain species of aspergillus) is that it could cause liver cancer, which occurs over a long period of time with continuous exposure (?20-30-40 years?) - at which point someone with liver cancer will be suspected of common causes like chronic Hepatitis, chronic alcohol, tho in Asian countries aflatoxins in foods are suspected of being a major player. Asian countries(China) and Asian(Chinese)-Americans have higher incidence of liver cancer.

Aflatoxins have mostly been associated with grains, peanuts, coffee (HK report -tho their testing finds 92% free from aflatoxin, but they dont include/specify if tea was tested -- in the previously quoted study aflatoxin was found in >66% of corn and peanut oil, 23% positive rice.

There arent many studies looking for fungus in tea (black tea, herbal);
one study says that tannin inhibits aflatoxin; and ofcourse, flavonoids/polyphenols/egcg inhibit invitro damage by aflatoxin...(1,2,3) ... dont forget too that EGCG CBGB itself can also cause liver damage...in rats ... studies

I'm trying to find what temperatures can inactivate the fungi/aflatoxin (only found one invitro aspergillus cultures >10-15min at 60C, for coffee 20min at 200C inactivates aflatoxin)

anywho.... all this fungus talk make me thirsty for some green puer and soft cheese (ooo listeria ooooh)

[augie]

Does anyone know of instances where someone was Dx'ed with illness related to the bacteria in Pu Ehr or any tea?

anywho.... all this fungus talk make me thirsty for some green puer and soft cheese (ooo listeria ooooh)

Hope everything turned out well with the cheese! Thanks for your input. I just rec'd a recorded "update call" from Costco recalling a bulk box of Cliff bars my children have already consumed weeks ago!

I think a lot of it has to do with individual resistance to disease also (not that it is good to eat dirt or turpentine). How many instances have you heard of one person in a family getting sick from black mold inside the walls of their home?

I don't think I could stop dirnking ripe pu if I wanted to . . .

[J.]

Consumption of moldy pu’er tea may lead to mycotoxin poisoning in some individuals.

I thinks it's like all the other foods.
If you eat a cheese that has stayed for years in a cave in a moutain, it will taste better that every factory cheese but there's a risk because it has stayed for a long time in a cave and because the milk hasn't been pastorized.

A recent discussion on the Sanzui tea BBS about pu’er drinkers’ findings of extraneous materials within their pu’er bears this out.

For me it's also like the other foods (or drinks).
I went once in France to do the "vendanges" (grapes picking to make wine with it).
When we take the we don't chez every grape to find if there's no insect (or fungus). Or even sometimes we put people in the truck that's containing the grapes.
Of course, you can't see the insects in your wine because the've been "powdered".


For me pu-erh is like all other healthy and tasty foods: it's good for health and it's a real pleasure to drink but sometimes we can find some stranges things of poisonneous things inside because it hasn't been made in a factory.


I hope you understang because I don't really know wich tense to use when I write. (Remember, I am'nt a "native english speaker")

[shogun89]

I hope you understang because I don't really know wich tense to use when I write. (Remember, I am'nt a "native english speaker")

You're English is just fine, I get your point. It would be impossible for them to have a strict quality control with that high of a production. And at the price we pay for a cake what do you expect, (that is the cheap new cakes)

[puerhking]

I think far and away the biggest danger is becoming addicted.......to which, sadly, I have succumbed and become just another statistic. And a happy one at that!

[augie]

I went once in France to do the "vendanges" (grapes picking to make wine with it).
When we take the we don't chez every grape to find if there's no insect (or fungus). Or even sometimes we put people in the truck that's containing the grapes.
Of course, you can't see the insects in your wine because the've been "powdered".
I hope you understang because I don't really know wich tense to use when I write. (Remember, I am'nt a "native english speaker")

Your English is great! Some Americans don't have much of a commanding knowledge of their only language!

The grapes are a good example. I have noticed mine get moldy fast if I don't wash and eat right away. And I know that once you see
the mold, the actual fungus has been "taking root" for several days previous. I just don't know how that works with a tea cake????