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2023 Author: Gabrielle Mercer | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-21 12:25
In organic teas for babies, of all things, harmful substances have now been found that can be carcinogenic! Which varieties are therefore better to avoid.
Parents only want the best for their little ones - so many use organic products, especially for babies, as these are guaranteed to contain fewer chemicals that could damage the sensitive organism.
But unfortunately, even organic products can fail a test - and quite a bit: In a test of 17 organic baby teas by the ZDF consumer program "WISO", dangerous plant toxins were discovered in 5 products that can even be carcinogenic: so-called pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs), a plant poison that causes liver tumors in high doses.
Twelve of the tested teas were found to be free of harmful substances, four as moderately to little contaminated, one variety, however, was heavily contaminated with PA - even 1 tea per day is classified as dangerous for adults. This "Sidroga" brand tea, which is available in pharmacies, has since been taken off the market by the manufacturer. However, if you still have a pack at home, you'd better throw it away.
These 5 organic baby teas can be carcinogenic:
- Sidroga - organic tea for infants and children
- Alnatura - baby fennel tea
- Sonnentor - sun child baby tea
- H&S baby and children's tea "Breathe gently"
- H&S baby and children's tea "Good gut feeling"
The following feedback came from Sonnentor:
Dear woman team, We noticed that you shared the ZDF Wiso magazine review.
We very much regret that pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PA) were found in our baby tea. However, we do not assume any danger for the tea consumer. We also communicated this to the ZDF Wiso editorial team in advance of the contribution. Unfortunately, the results and information from us as well as from other manufacturers have not been taken into account.
When it comes to PA, the waves always go up. Likewise, fears are fueled in many people. It is not uncommon for us to receive inquiries from customers who are afraid of developing cancer because they are drinking a cup of tea. However, there is a clear statement from the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR): If a varied diet is taken into account, there is no health risk from tea.
The German Federal Ministry for Food and Agriculture also comes to the conclusion that complete freedom from PAs from natural products such as herbal tea and tea will never be fully achievable. How come? About five PA-forming weeds per 50,000 to 60,000 crops on one hectare of cultivation area are sufficient to achieve verifiable values - these tests are so precise.
Of course, the manufacturers try to minimize these values as much as possible. In conventional agriculture this is mostly done through the use of pesticides, in organic agriculture it is mostly done manually. For example, our organic farmers weed out weeds by hand. They proceed very carefully and we have already been able to significantly minimize the amount of PA. But of course it is a big challenge for the farmers, whom we support as well as possible.