Indian tea ‘unsafe’ to drink says Greenpeace

PRASHANT ACHARYA, EOI, Siliguri, 16 Aug 2014: Is Indian tea, which has received the haloed status of a ‘national drink’, harmful to our health? Every sip that we take could be harmful for us, says a study initiated by a global NGO.

Greenpeace India, which has its headquarters in Mumbai, has revealed the presence of residues of chemical pesticides in a majority of brands presently being sold in domestic markets during a year’s field study. According to the NGO, it has found the presence of harmful pesticide residues including the toxic dichlorodiphenyl trichloroethane (DDT) in tea sold by leading brands across India.

“We carried out a study across many cities in India over the past one year to check the quality of tea leaves sold in cities. Our study has revealed the presence of residues of chemical pesticides in a majority of brands,” senior Greenpeace campaigner Neha Sehgal told over telephone from Mumbai.

DDT, which is banned for use in agriculture in the country since 1989, Cypermethrin, a respiratory irritant, and Imidacloprid have the potential to cause reproductive debilities or developmental progress in at least 60 per cent or more of the samples tested. Neonicotinoid insecticides were present in large proportions in the samples (for instance, 67.3 per cent of Thiacloprid was found and 78 per cent of Thiamethoxam was detected).

Sehgal claimed that out of 49 samples tested by Greenpeace, around 34, or 94 per cent, contained residues of at least one pesticide, while 29 or 59 per cent contained a cocktail of more than 10 different pesticides.

Further, 59 per cent of the samples contained residues of at least one pesticide above the maximum residue limits approved by the European Union.

Nonetheless, Sehgal said, "It is very encouraging that tea companies are taking steps to provide consumers pesticide-free tea. Unilever, and now Girnar Tea, have taken the first steps in this direction. Greenpeace will continue to urge the tea industry to move towards a holistic, eco-friendly approach to gradually phase out pesticides and clean our ‘chai’."

Meanwhile, the Tea Board of India has denied the Greenpeace report claiming the tea leaves are "totally safe" and are sold only after making them going through stringent quality tests. Tea board sources said tea, before being sold in the markets, is tested by experts and has to pass several examinations and tests.