"Compared with Japan, the European Union and other countries and regions, our current national tea hygiene standards have significantly fewer pesticide residue limits." The Ministry of Health standard stipulates that the pesticide residue limit is 3mg/kg, while the EU is only 0.1mg/kg

        The difference between the Ministry of Agriculture’s ban on the use of pesticides and the pesticide residue limits set by the Ministry of Health is difficult to understand. Take the pesticide methomyl detected in Lipton flower tea as an example. According to the "Announcement No. 1586 of the Ministry of Agriculture of the People's Republic of China", it is a prohibited pesticide, but the standard issued by the Ministry of Health stipulates that the residue limit is 3mg/kg, while the EU residue The limit is only 0.1mg/kg.

        "The Ministry of Agriculture has clearly stated that it is a banned pesticide, but the Ministry of Health has also stipulated such a loose pesticide residue standard." The above-mentioned person said.

        The confusion of standards has also led to the suspicion of Lipton's internal and external differences and the implementation of double standards. "Lipton's market spreads all over the world. Perhaps it is clear that if such tea is in Europe, it is definitely not allowed to be sold. In other words, "Lipton" is selling these products that do not meet EU requirements to countless unknowing Chinese consumers." said Wang Jing, head of the tea pesticide residue project of the "Greenpeace" organization.

        A report by the international environmental protection organization "Greenpeace" on pesticide residues in tea companies once again caused uproar: its new investigation shows that "Lipton" green tea, jasmine tea and Tieguanyin teabags all contain banned tea from the country. The highly toxic pesticide methomyl used.

        The report showed that the four samples contained a total of 17 different pesticide residues. Among them, there were as many as 13 pesticide residues on green tea and Tieguanyin, and jasmine tea also contained 9 pesticide residues. Among these 17 pesticides, 7 are not yet approved for use in the European Union, such as endosulfan, dicofol and bifenthrin, and these pesticides have been shown to affect male fertility and fetal health.

        Previously, the NGO also stated that 18 teas were sold by nine domestic tea brands including Wu Yutai, Zhang Yiyuan, China Tea, Tianfu Tea, Richun, Bama, Emeishan Bamboo Leaf Green, Yuchayuan, and Hainan Nongken Baisha Green Tea. All the samples contained at least three pesticide residues, and 12 of them contained pesticides prohibited by the Ministry of Agriculture of China for use on tea trees.

        The authoritative and scientific nature of this report has been refuted by the Chinese industry. However, under controversy, issues such as loose national standards for tea, different standards set by the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Health, and whether the use of pesticides and pesticide residues are caused by the natural environment or whether they are used in violation of regulations by enterprises have also surfaced.

        Pesticide residue does not mean that the pesticide exceeds the standard?

        On April 11 and April 24, the two consecutive reports issued by the organization were immediately refuted by many tea companies, industry associations, and industry experts. The tea companies involved in the report stated without exception that their tea complies with national standards.

        "This report is not scientific and rigorous enough, and its data is not compared with the national standards. Containing pesticide residues does not mean that it is unsafe. In fact, these pesticide residues are basically within the scope of the national standard." Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering , Said Chen Zongmao, a tea expert.

        Wu Xiduan, secretary general of the China Tea Industry Circulation Association, also said that the environmental organization "stealed the concept." "Pesticide residue" and "excess pesticide" were originally two different concepts, and the EU standards and domestic standards are not consistent.

        Suddenly, many accusations such as "irresponsibility" and "impure motives for purpose" pointed to "Greenpeace" and claimed that they would confess their mistakes to tea companies and industry associations. However, a person from the organization’s media department told reporters, “This is a misinformation. Our attitude has always been clear. The data is also a fact. We will not admit it.”

        In addition, people in the industry believe that the pesticide residues in tea are not caused by the illegal use of drugs by business people. Although the report says that it contains banned pesticides such as endosulfan, the pesticides used before will have a residual period for a period of time. It is proved that the company has artificially used prohibited pesticides.

        People from the "Greenpeace" organization said, "According to the type and content of the test, it is not left by nature, but used by humans." "In our investigation, we did find that some farmers are still using prohibited pesticides." The organization also said. According to one person.

        According to the "Food Safety Law", the third-party inspection agency that conducts tea inspections should have the qualifications of a food inspection agency, and the items tested and the inspection basis used should be included in the scope of inspection capabilities recognized by it. Otherwise, the reported data will be invalid. It is possible to lose the legal basis.

        “Greenpeace” said: “We legally guarantee that the organization we use must be a third-party independent organization with food inspection agency qualifications. However, we have a confidentiality agreement with them and cannot write their names to the outside world. Large food companies have cooperated and are worried that this report will be affected or public relations by the other party."