While the Agricultural Show ends this Sunday, March 6, the use of pesticides is still regularly questioned by the French, more and more of whom are turning to organic. 60 Million consumers publishes a survey that shows that the teas and herbal teas we consume are “full of dirt”, to use the words of the magazine.
franceinfo: Patricia Chairopoulos, you tested 48 references in this dossier, and so we learn that when we drink tea or herbal tea, there is much more than water and plants in the teapot?
Patricia Chairopoulos: Yes, then, for example, there are fragments of insects, plastic, stone. That’s to whet your appetite. We also found with our analyzes several, even a lot of pesticide residues, some of which are banned in France and Europe.
Whether it’s black teas, green teas, herbal teas, all sorts of things to infuse that we consume, everything is concerned on the same scale, or are some more so than others?
Yes, it is mainly teas that are concerned, and even more so conventional teas, whether black tea or green tea. There are still a certain number of pesticides there. In fact, all conventional teas contain pesticide residues that we have researched.
On the other hand, on the infusion side, it’s a little better, since we found traces of pesticides in the verbena and mint infusions. But otherwise, they behave better. But overall, yes especially black teas and non-organic green teas, it’s not terrible.
Precisely, pesticides, you have researched 770 different molecules, and we find in particular glyphosate in a third of the products?
Yes, and mainly in black teas, so you know that glyphosate is this weedkiller we’ve heard a lot about that is still not banned in Europe and France. Finally, for professional use, but also, of course, in China and India, where there is tea culture. So, indeed, we find traces of glyphosate, perhaps more than we thought elsewhere.
So, there are still a lot of pesticide residues in these infusions. All are not prohibited?
No, in fact, we found 14 different pesticide residues. And on that, half, on the other hand, are residues of banned pesticides. So there are some that are allowed. So we can find residues in the conventional.
It’s unfortunate, but it happens, that’s how it is. On the other hand, where it is more problematic, indeed, is to find these pesticides which, normally, are prohibited in Europe, and even more so in France.
If we buy teas, organic herbal teas, are we safe from consuming infusions with few pesticides in them?
So there, yes, definitely. Apart from an organic detox infusion which is not doing very well, but for the rest, all the organic products in our panel are doing much better. So much for other tests on other products, organic is not always very different, unfortunately. But there, on the other hand, it is clear and clear. It is better to buy organic tea and herbal teas to escape contamination with pesticides.
Tea and herbal tea, are these products that we import massively? Are those produced in France better than those imported?
The big countries from which we import are therefore mainly China and India. And above all, it is that the French still consume a lot of tea and herbal teas. And even among the youngest.
So for now, most of the time, it’s still teas imported from outside the European Union. But indeed, there is a small local production. It’s still a niche. There are about thirty plantations of plantation projects, therefore in France.
There, I’m not talking about Reunion Island, where there is already tea, and this production is starting to be sold, and in any case, it’s organic. It will be local, organic, therefore, a priori actually cleaner than what can be found on the shelves for the moment.