37% of green herbal teas fail pesticide residue tests; Consumer Protection Office reminds people not to pick roadside herbs

The Consumer Protection Committee of the Executive Yuan sampled 30 commercially sold herbal tea ingredients for pesticide residue testing. Of these, 19 met regulations and 11 did not, including Hsian-tsao (Mesona chinensis), Xianfengcao (Bidens pilosa), Pengqiju (Wedelia chinensis) and Fengrucao (Vitex rotundifolia); the non-compliant products have been removed from shelves. The Consumer Protection Committee reminded the public not to casually pick plants along roadsides to use as herbal tea ingredients, because localities, in order to maintain landscaping or environmental hygiene, such as preventing dengue fever, spray pesticides on an irregular basis, so the possibility of pesticide residue is high.

Among the 30 samples taken this time, 19 met regulations and 11 were found to have pesticide residues that did not comply with regulations. The pesticides detected are all approved for use domestically, but have not yet been approved (recommended) for use on the ingredients sampled this time. The test results are as follows.

(1) The highest failure rate was for Pengqiju (Wedelia chinensis, also known as yellow-flower honey vegetable), all six samples tested failed, and one sample of Fengrucao failed, but the number of pesticides exceeding limits was as high as six items, including malathion, cypermethrin, chlorfenapyr, trichlorfon, benomyl and lufenuron, with lufenuron residue in particular at 1.3 ppm, 26 times over the limit.

(2) In the Hsian-tsao portion, of 15 samples tested, two exceeded the standard, and the highest one showed 3 pesticides over the limit. Xianfengcao (Bidens pilosa), generally considered a wild weed, also had 2 samples over the limit, one with three pesticides failing, including acephate, fipronil and chlorpyrifos, while another sample was found to have chlorpyrifos pesticide residue.

The Consumer Protection Committee advised that, to ensure health, people should not casually pick plants on both sides of roads to use as herbal tea ingredients, because localities, in order to maintain the landscaping on both sides of roads and environmental hygiene, such as for dengue fever and other matters, spray pesticides on an irregular basis; casual picking may carry the risk of pesticide residue