enhanced_deficit
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- Joined
- Mar 17, 2013
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Have not validated all these claims, just food for thought for further research.
In quest of healthy Loose Leaf Green Tea, came across some environmentally clean Japanese mountains sourced brands that can be 5X times more expensive than common store brand Tea bags.
Biggest shocker, some Organic crops can have deadly pesticieds.
Strike out is mine:
Aug 18, 2017
Yes, You Are Definitely Ingesting Pesticides.Here's Why It's Not A Problem
Full article:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/...des-heres-why-its-not-a-problem/#273839751c99
What’s in Your Green Tea?
By Anahad O'Connor May 23, 2013
A basket of freshly picked green tea leaves at a farm in Fujinomiya, Japan.
Credit Everett Kennedy Brown/European Pressphoto Agency
Another phase of the study looked at green tea in its more natural forms – loose tea leaves sold by Teavana and tea bags sold by companies like Bigelow and Lipton. A single serving of Teavana’s Gyokuro green tea, about one teaspoonful, was chock-full of antioxidants, yielding about 250 milligrams of catechins, a third of which were EGCG. It also contained 86 milligrams of caffeine, slightly less than a regular cup of coffee.
A single bag of the green tea sold by Lipton and Bigelow contained somewhat smaller amounts of antioxidants than Teavana’s green tea and generally minimal amounts of caffeine. But Teavana’s recommended serving size was large, and the tea was also far more expensive, resulting in a higher cost per serving. The report calculated that the cost to obtain 200 milligrams of EGCG ranged from 27 cents to 60 cents with the tea bags, and $2.18 with the Teavana loose tea leaves.
But the most surprising phase of the study was an analysis of the lead content in the green tea leaves. The leaves in the Lipton and Bigelow tea bags contained 1.25 to 2.5 micrograms of lead per serving. The leaves from Teavana, however, did not contain measurable amounts.
“Lead can occur in many botanical products because it is taken up from the ground,” said Dr. Tod Cooperman, president of ConsumerLab.com. “The green tea plant is known to absorb lead at a higher rate than other plants from the environment, and lead also can build up on the surface of the leaves.”
Dr. Cooperman said the tea leaves containing lead probably originated in China, where studies have found that industrial pollution causes the leaves in some regions to gather substantial amounts of lead. The Teavana leaves came from Japan, where that is less of a problem, he said. The decaffeination process also helps remove lead.
https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/23/whats-in-your-green-tea/
( Teavana these days could be China sourced also, have not researched fully).
Toxic Pesticides in Green Tea from China
By Shawn | September 21, 2014
How safe is Chinese green tea?
Along with being the world’s largest producer of tea, China is also the world’s largest user of pesticides. The excessive use of dangerous pesticides in green tea farming is having a real impact on the safety of tea in the global market.
http://www.green-tea-guide.com/pesticides-in-green-tea.html
What chemicals are in your coffee?
Your skinny cappuccino may come with several unwanted chemicals.
Sharon Labi
June 17, 2016
Recent research shows some of our favourite brews can be laced with contaminants. An analysis by the nation's food regulator details a list of 14 substances that didn't surprise scientists, but will shock coffee lovers. Flat whites contained the highest number of contaminants - 13 - while cappuccinos had 12.Instant and plunger coffees had fewer - 11 and eight respectively, Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) found.
The average Australian consumes three kilograms of coffee a year and Dr Paul Brent, FSANZ's chief scientist, says tastes are changing. Instant coffee still dominates the market, but there has been a shift towards cafe varieties, with takeaway coffee now part of the daily ritual. From arsenic to aluminium, copper, tin, nickel and acrylamide - a chemical that has the World Health Organization (WHO) on alert aft er it was found to cause cancer in rats - most of the coffees analysed had about a dozen contaminants.
Heavy metal
The heavy metals leach into the coffee beans through the soil, but other contaminants, such as acrylamide, occur as a result of roasting the beans at temperatures higher than 100 degrees. Scientists say there is no cause for alarm, although they will investigate further as part of the next Australian Total Diet Study.
"Acrylamide is a chemical we've known about for a long time and it does cause cancer in rodents, but there's no evidence it causes cancer in humans," Dr Brent says. Acrylamide also forms when roasting potatoes, burning toast or frying food, when sugars interact with amino acids. "The roasting creates chemicals such as acrylamide and sometimes furan, but the metals are probably more robust and, once they're in the plants in those very small levels, the roasting and processing doesn't get rid of them."
Roasting hot
Peter Stathos, chairman of the Australian Coffee Traders Association, says more people want darker, stronger coffee, and the longer and hotter you roast, the more acrylamide is formed. "It's a fine balance because in its raw form, the bean is like a little stone, so it has to be roasted at temperatures of about 200 degrees," he explains.
If it was roasted at lower temperatures, the coffee would be undrinkable, he says. Furan, another chemical the WHO is concerned about because of its carcinogenic properties, was found in all eight coffee types tested. Dr Brent says rates of contaminants in coffee in Australia compare favourably internationally and are seen to be so low the regulator has no maximum levels set, unlike fish, which is regulated for mercury and lead content.
..
Full article:
https://www.bodyandsoul.com.au/heal...e/news-story/3201a48362d567bf68aed68ab2120b22
Have not isolated coffee field workers vs consumers risks:
Brazilian coffee is sprayed with deadly pesticides
In Brazil, coffee may be sprayed with pesticides that are illegal in the EU because they are acutely toxic and cause disease. Many workers apply pesticides without sufficient protective equipment, and pesticide poisoning is widespread. Even the drinking water contains traces of these dangerous pesticides.
Skin contact with the chemical known as terbufos can kill you. Symptoms of poisoning are involuntary muscle contractions, drooling, visual disorders, reduced coordination, dizziness, vomiting, difficulty breathing and loss of consciousness. In the EU, it is illegal to use pesticides that contain terbufos because the chemical is so toxic. On Brazilian coffee plantations, however, it can be used to fight insects.
Risk of cancer
The chemicals that are sprayed on Brazilian coffee are not only acutely toxic; some of them may also cause cancer. One of the most common herbicides used on Brazilian coffee plantations is glyphosate, which is sold under the brand name Roundup and used around the world as a weed killer.
In the three regions of Minas Gerais state where most of its coffee plantations are located, 1,800 tons plus 18,000,000 litres of glyphosate were sold in 2014. In March 2015, the World Health Organisation (WHO) changed its classification of glyphosate to “probably carcinogenic to humans”, in part because the chemical has been shown to cause cancer in research animals.
Glyphosate’s dangers include damage to DNA, according to Fabio Gomes, an expert working at the Brazilian National Cancer Institute (INCA).
“Even in small doses, glyphosate can cause cancer twenty to thirty years later”, says Gomes.
The question of whether glyphosate causes cancer is still debated, and in November 2015, the European Food Safety Administration determined that the chemical is unlikely to damage DNA or to cause cancer in humans.
https://old.danwatch.dk/en/undersogelseskapitel/brazilian-coffee-is-sprayed/
Contrarion view: Ignorance can be be a bliss too, cost of 'unwarranted worry' should also be accounted for when making consumption decisions. Had been pretty happy drinking 3-4 cups of store brand green tea and coffee a day until read these nitpick reports.
In quest of healthy Loose Leaf Green Tea, came across some environmentally clean Japanese mountains sourced brands that can be 5X times more expensive than common store brand Tea bags.
Biggest shocker, some Organic crops can have deadly pesticieds.
Strike out is mine:
Aug 18, 2017
Yes, You Are Definitely Ingesting Pesticides.
- Organic uses pesticides. Sometimes they are indeed less toxic.Sometimes they are 100% identical to non-organic: the organic farmers just paid more for the organic certification that lets them charge higher prices. Sometimes they are far, far more toxic! The organic alternative to the herbicide glyphosate, for example, is highly corrosive and is known to burn the eyes and mouths of farmers who use it without protective measures, and its vapors can cause headaches, lung problems, and death. Glyphosate is less toxic than salt (technically it’s almost half as toxic*): you could eat it out of the box and have zero short term or long term problems (to a point), while the organic alternative (appropriately called BurnOut) would burn out your mouth and throat immediately. Then there is the organic, plant-derived insecticide, Rotenone, which is about fifty times more toxic than salt, has caused human deaths, and is linked to Parkinson's disease in farmers.
- Not all pesticides are toxic at all. That includes synthetic, organic, etc. Not everything is as nasty as BurnOut or Rotenone, but not everything is as effective.
- Less effective sprays may need to be sprayed more often and/or in higher doses. Which is better? It is not easy to tell.
- Many pesticides degrade over time. By the time the food reaches you, there is often no pesticide left. Water, heat, or sunlight can wash off or destroy many such compounds: Rotenone vanishes within three days, and has never harmed any consumer from its use on food (the deaths were from deliberate drinking of it straight from the bottle).
Full article:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/...des-heres-why-its-not-a-problem/#273839751c99
What’s in Your Green Tea?
By Anahad O'Connor May 23, 2013
A basket of freshly picked green tea leaves at a farm in Fujinomiya, Japan.
Credit Everett Kennedy Brown/European Pressphoto Agency
Another phase of the study looked at green tea in its more natural forms – loose tea leaves sold by Teavana and tea bags sold by companies like Bigelow and Lipton. A single serving of Teavana’s Gyokuro green tea, about one teaspoonful, was chock-full of antioxidants, yielding about 250 milligrams of catechins, a third of which were EGCG. It also contained 86 milligrams of caffeine, slightly less than a regular cup of coffee.
A single bag of the green tea sold by Lipton and Bigelow contained somewhat smaller amounts of antioxidants than Teavana’s green tea and generally minimal amounts of caffeine. But Teavana’s recommended serving size was large, and the tea was also far more expensive, resulting in a higher cost per serving. The report calculated that the cost to obtain 200 milligrams of EGCG ranged from 27 cents to 60 cents with the tea bags, and $2.18 with the Teavana loose tea leaves.
But the most surprising phase of the study was an analysis of the lead content in the green tea leaves. The leaves in the Lipton and Bigelow tea bags contained 1.25 to 2.5 micrograms of lead per serving. The leaves from Teavana, however, did not contain measurable amounts.
“Lead can occur in many botanical products because it is taken up from the ground,” said Dr. Tod Cooperman, president of ConsumerLab.com. “The green tea plant is known to absorb lead at a higher rate than other plants from the environment, and lead also can build up on the surface of the leaves.”
Dr. Cooperman said the tea leaves containing lead probably originated in China, where studies have found that industrial pollution causes the leaves in some regions to gather substantial amounts of lead. The Teavana leaves came from Japan, where that is less of a problem, he said. The decaffeination process also helps remove lead.
https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/23/whats-in-your-green-tea/
( Teavana these days could be China sourced also, have not researched fully).
Toxic Pesticides in Green Tea from China
By Shawn | September 21, 2014
How safe is Chinese green tea?
Along with being the world’s largest producer of tea, China is also the world’s largest user of pesticides. The excessive use of dangerous pesticides in green tea farming is having a real impact on the safety of tea in the global market.
http://www.green-tea-guide.com/pesticides-in-green-tea.html
What chemicals are in your coffee?
Your skinny cappuccino may come with several unwanted chemicals.
Sharon Labi
June 17, 2016
Recent research shows some of our favourite brews can be laced with contaminants. An analysis by the nation's food regulator details a list of 14 substances that didn't surprise scientists, but will shock coffee lovers. Flat whites contained the highest number of contaminants - 13 - while cappuccinos had 12.Instant and plunger coffees had fewer - 11 and eight respectively, Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) found.
The average Australian consumes three kilograms of coffee a year and Dr Paul Brent, FSANZ's chief scientist, says tastes are changing. Instant coffee still dominates the market, but there has been a shift towards cafe varieties, with takeaway coffee now part of the daily ritual. From arsenic to aluminium, copper, tin, nickel and acrylamide - a chemical that has the World Health Organization (WHO) on alert aft er it was found to cause cancer in rats - most of the coffees analysed had about a dozen contaminants.
Heavy metal
The heavy metals leach into the coffee beans through the soil, but other contaminants, such as acrylamide, occur as a result of roasting the beans at temperatures higher than 100 degrees. Scientists say there is no cause for alarm, although they will investigate further as part of the next Australian Total Diet Study.
"Acrylamide is a chemical we've known about for a long time and it does cause cancer in rodents, but there's no evidence it causes cancer in humans," Dr Brent says. Acrylamide also forms when roasting potatoes, burning toast or frying food, when sugars interact with amino acids. "The roasting creates chemicals such as acrylamide and sometimes furan, but the metals are probably more robust and, once they're in the plants in those very small levels, the roasting and processing doesn't get rid of them."
Roasting hot
Peter Stathos, chairman of the Australian Coffee Traders Association, says more people want darker, stronger coffee, and the longer and hotter you roast, the more acrylamide is formed. "It's a fine balance because in its raw form, the bean is like a little stone, so it has to be roasted at temperatures of about 200 degrees," he explains.
If it was roasted at lower temperatures, the coffee would be undrinkable, he says. Furan, another chemical the WHO is concerned about because of its carcinogenic properties, was found in all eight coffee types tested. Dr Brent says rates of contaminants in coffee in Australia compare favourably internationally and are seen to be so low the regulator has no maximum levels set, unlike fish, which is regulated for mercury and lead content.
..
Full article:
https://www.bodyandsoul.com.au/heal...e/news-story/3201a48362d567bf68aed68ab2120b22
Have not isolated coffee field workers vs consumers risks:
Brazilian coffee is sprayed with deadly pesticides
In Brazil, coffee may be sprayed with pesticides that are illegal in the EU because they are acutely toxic and cause disease. Many workers apply pesticides without sufficient protective equipment, and pesticide poisoning is widespread. Even the drinking water contains traces of these dangerous pesticides.
Skin contact with the chemical known as terbufos can kill you. Symptoms of poisoning are involuntary muscle contractions, drooling, visual disorders, reduced coordination, dizziness, vomiting, difficulty breathing and loss of consciousness. In the EU, it is illegal to use pesticides that contain terbufos because the chemical is so toxic. On Brazilian coffee plantations, however, it can be used to fight insects.
Risk of cancer
The chemicals that are sprayed on Brazilian coffee are not only acutely toxic; some of them may also cause cancer. One of the most common herbicides used on Brazilian coffee plantations is glyphosate, which is sold under the brand name Roundup and used around the world as a weed killer.
In the three regions of Minas Gerais state where most of its coffee plantations are located, 1,800 tons plus 18,000,000 litres of glyphosate were sold in 2014. In March 2015, the World Health Organisation (WHO) changed its classification of glyphosate to “probably carcinogenic to humans”, in part because the chemical has been shown to cause cancer in research animals.
Glyphosate’s dangers include damage to DNA, according to Fabio Gomes, an expert working at the Brazilian National Cancer Institute (INCA).
“Even in small doses, glyphosate can cause cancer twenty to thirty years later”, says Gomes.
The question of whether glyphosate causes cancer is still debated, and in November 2015, the European Food Safety Administration determined that the chemical is unlikely to damage DNA or to cause cancer in humans.
https://old.danwatch.dk/en/undersogelseskapitel/brazilian-coffee-is-sprayed/
Contrarion view: Ignorance can be be a bliss too, cost of 'unwarranted worry' should also be accounted for when making consumption decisions. Had been pretty happy drinking 3-4 cups of store brand green tea and coffee a day until read these nitpick reports.
