Tracking residual organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in green, herbal, and black tea leaves and infusions of commercially available tea products marketed in Poland

ABSTRACT

The content of residual organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) was examined in green, herbal, and black tea leaves as well as in their infusions prepared from tea products marketed in the main supermarkets in Poland. It was found that the detected mean levels of organochlorine residues in tea leaves ranged from <LOD to 16.36 ng g⁻¹ dry weight. Among hexachlorocyclohexane isomers, γ-HCH in green tea occurred in the highest concentrations. Among dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) metabolites the highest level of p,p′DDT (1.96 ng g⁻¹ dw) was in green tea samples. The transfer of OCPs from tea leaves to brew was investigated. The present study revealed that during the infusion process, a significant percentage of the residues, particularly pesticides with high water solubility, were transferred to the infusions. The obtained results show that the percentage transfer of each pesticides from tea to the tea infusions ranged from 6.74% (heptachlor) to 86.6% (endrin). The detected residues were below current MRLs for these pesticides.

KEYWORDS:

• Organochlorine pesticide residues (OCPs)
• tea leaves
• tea infusion

Acknowledgment

The authors are grateful to Prof. Dr. Mikolaj Protasowicki, head of the Toxicology Department at the Faculty of Food Sciences and Fisheries, West Pomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin, for his kindness and support.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.