Assessing transfer of aluminum during tea brewing and associated population health risks.

Tea is consumed widely around the world owing to its refreshing taste and potential health benefits. However, drinking tea is considered a major route for dietary aluminum exposure in areas where tea consumption is relatively large. To assess the health risk associated with drinking tea, the contamination level of aluminum was determined in 81 tea samples. The transfer rate of aluminum during tea brewing was investigated. Then based on the site-specific exposure parameters such as consumption data and body weight for six different subpopulations in Fujian, the exposure risks were estimated using a probabilistic approach. Results demonstrate that the contents of aluminum in green tea, white tea, oolong tea, and black tea were significantly different according to the one-way ANOVA analysis (p < 0.05). The transfer rate of aluminum were 32.6%, 31.6%, 26.3%, and 14% for white tea, black tea, oolong tea, and green tea, respectively. With respect to the oral reference dose, the exposure of inhabitants in Fujian to aluminum through drinking tea is under control (even at the 99th percentile).

Occurrence of pesticides in white tea and a corresponding risk exposure assessment for the different residents in Fujian, China.

White tea has been of increasing public interest worldwide owing to its health benefits. Based on 2 years of surveillance, the long-term and cumulative chronic exposure risks of pesticide residues through white tea drinking were assessed for different subpopulations in Fujian, China. Twenty-five different pesticides were found, and 74.8% of samples contained at least one pesticide residue. The most frequently detected pesticide was bifenthrin with detection rates of 61.6%. Risk assessment was performed using both the deterministic approach and semiprobabilistic model under the best-case and the worst-case scenarios. The results demonstrated that the dietary risks were extremely low for six different subpopulations in which the risks for adults over the age of 41 were relatively higher. The risk ranking scheme indicated that isocarbophos and triazophos were considered to be of medium risk. The different use suggestions for the 25 positive pesticides are proposed to further minimize the exposure risk to consumer health. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Tea is the second most popular nonalcoholic beverage throughout the world. Pesticides are used to improve the yield of tea. Pesticide residues in tea could be one of the exposure pathways for consumers. Monitoring residual levels and assessing the health risk assessment in tea are thus in an urge.