China?s Tainted Tea Problem
By Monica Tan
April 20, 2012
The tea fields of coastal Chinese province Zhejiang cover the hills in rows of lush, green tea bushes. The image is reminiscent of the rolling vineyards of Tuscany. And in many ways, tea is to China what wine is to the West. Pu'er tea ages just like a bottle of red, with raw Pu'er from the 1950-70s commanding as much as $20,000 a pound. And whether it?s high-end ?luxury? teas being exchanged through the hands of China?s elite or ordinary household brands being brewed in just about every household of China, tea is an essential part of Chinese culture.
But is this tea safe to drink? A recent report from Greenpeace has uncovered the presence of illegal pesticides in some of China?s most popular teas such as Methomyl and Endosulfan, the latter of which has been banned globally under the Stockholm Convention due to its toxic properties.
In December 2011 and January 2012, Greenpeace took samples from nine well-known tea companies in China. Eighteen different kinds of medium-grade tea were purchased at random, and sent to an accredited third-party laboratory for pesticide testing. Twelve of the 18 samples contained at least one pesticide banned for use on tea. Every single sample contained at least three different kinds of pesticides, and on the sample Richun?s Tieguanyin 803 tea a total of 17 different kinds of pesticides was found...
