Greenpeace calls on the industry to save Indian tea from pesticides
Greenpeace India called on the tea industry to save Indian tea from pesticides while launching their report, Trouble Brewing , today. The study exposes the presence of pesticides, considered highly and moderately hazardous by the World Health Organization (WHO), in leading national and international tea brands. The report also reveals the presence of other pesticides which have not been approved for use on tea crops in India.
"Indian tea is a national pride, and it should not be the one linked to toxic chemicals with serious environmental and health risks. All stakeholders in the tea industry should come forward and take steps to safeguard the reputation of our national drink," said Neha Saigal, Senior Campaigner, Greenpeace India.
Between June 2013 and May 2014, Greenpeace India tested a sample of 49 branded packaged teas from 8 of the top 11 companies that dominate the branded tea market in India and which also export to countries like Russia, UK, US, UAE and Iran.
These include the well-known brands of Hindustan Unilever Limited, Tata Global Beverages Limited, Wagh Bakri Tea, Goodricke Tea, Twinings, Golden Tips, Kho-Cha and Girnar.
The test results show the presence of pesticides classified both as Highly Hazardous (Class 1b) and Moderately Hazardous (Class II) according to WHO. A large number of the samples tested positive for a cocktail of toxic pesticides. DDT was present in almost sixty-seven percent of the tea samples even though it is no longer registered for use in agriculture in India and was banned in such applications as long ago as 1989 (although it is still in use for control of disease carrying insects and may be present as a contaminant of other pesticides).
Many tea samples tested positive for Monocrotophos, a highly hazardous organophospohorous pesticide. It is to be noted that Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) urged developing countries to phase out these pesticides post the tragic incident last year where 23 school children died after eating school meal contaminated with monocrotophos. The cocktail also includes neoniconitoid insecticides such as imidacloprid, which are associated with reproductive or developmental impacts in animals, as well as affecting bees and other beneficial insects.
