Crystal Nelson
Peppermint tea is one of the most popular types of tea in Germany. But experts have now discovered that many ready-made mixtures contain alarmingly high concentrations of pollutants.
Herbal teas are so heavily contaminated with plant toxins that their consumption is considered harmful to health. This was the result of research by the NDR business and consumer magazine “Markt”. In laboratory analysis, so-called pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PA) were discovered in four out of six peppermint and herbal teas – plant toxins that can be carcinogenic even in small amounts. The toxins are contained in weeds and wrongly get into the harvested crop during mechanical harvesting.
Herbal teas in the laboratory test
So far, there is no limit value for pyrrolizidine alkaloids prescribed in the EU. Nevertheless, the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) has determined a safe maximum intake level for PA. This value is 0.42 micrograms per day – for an adult. In their random samples, the experts examined products from REWE, Edeka, Aldi, and Lidl, among others. The big loser is Rewe’s “Ja! Pfefferminze” variety: The laboratory determined a total of 0.67 micrograms per cup. This means that just one cup of the drink exceeds the recommended maximum intake per day. The herbal tea “Kloster herb mixture” from Edeka’s own brand reached 0.36 micrograms per cup. The laboratory analyzes also showed the dangerous plant toxins in the peppermint tea from Aldi and in the herbal tea from the manufacturer Messmer – albeit in smaller quantities. Aldi’s tea contained 0.02 micrograms of PA per cup, Messmer’s product 0.005 micrograms.
Toxicologist Prof. Edmund Maser from the Christian-Albrechts-University in Kiel demands that all food should be free of PA. The companies concerned informed the consumer magazine that they had already carried out extensive measures to minimize the harmful substances.
