Lead, cadmium, arsenic, mercury and copper levels in Chinese Yunnan Pu'er tea.
The Yunnan region of China produces a distinctive variety of Pu'er tea, which is consequently labeled as a Chinese geographic indication product. In this study, the safety of Chinese Yunnan Pu'er tea with regard to heavy metal content was evaluated in 30 different brands of Pu'er tea, including 150 commercial samples. Metal levels in the Pu'er tea samples followed the order: copper (12-22 µg/g) > lead (0.26-3.2 µg/g) > arsenic (0.035-0.24 µg/g) > cadmium (0.0059-0.085 µg/g) > mercury (<0.010 µg/g). Mercury was not detected in 17 of the brands of Pu'er tea. Metal-to-metal correlation studies showed that there were no significant correlation between metal pairs. Based on current safety standards, the low levels of metals detected in these Pu'er tea samples mean they are safe for human consumption.
a College of Veterinary Medicine, Northwest A & F University , Yangling , Shaanxi 712100 , China.
Pengbo
P
Ning
Chunmei
C
Gong
Yanming
Y
Zhang
Kangkang
K
Guo
Juan
J
Bai
D001151:Arsenic / Q000032:analysis* / Q000633:toxicity; D002104:Cadmium / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity; D002681:China; D003300:Copper / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity; D004032:Diet / Q000208:ethnology; D005506:Food Contamination; D005511:Food Handling; D005513:Food Inspection; D019983:Guideline Adherence; D006291:Health Policy; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D007854:Lead / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity; D057230:Limit of Detection; D008628:Mercury / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis* / Q000633:toxicity; D011042:Poisons / Q000032:analysis* / Q000633:toxicity; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence; D013054:Spectrophotometry, Atomic; D013662:Tea / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards
D019216:Metals, Heavy; D011042:Poisons; D013662:Tea; D002104:Cadmium; D007854:Lead; D003300:Copper; D008628:Mercury; D001151:Arsenic
arsenic; cadmium; heavy metals; lead; mercury