Drinks Sold In New York State Laced With ‘Toxic’ Pesticide Part of Huge Recall

If you are a tea drinker in Upstate New York, you might want to double check your teabags. A large recall is underway on a popular brands tea.

The USDA recently shared a voluntary recall issued by Oregon based East West Tea Company, LLC. According to the recall notice, certain lots of their Organic Yogi Echinacea Immune Support tea tested positive for pesticide residues above action levels.

Food & Wine reports that 54,000 boxes of the tea distributed nationwide are part of the recall. Each box of the tea comes with 16 tea bags, meaning that close to 900,000 individual tea bags may have come in contact with the pesticide.

"The affected products are marked with the following UPC: 0 76950 45010 3. The recalled lot numbers include the following: #0000184330, #0000184853, #0000185098, #0000185100, #0000185383, #0000185385, #0000185387, #0000185389, #0000185434, #0000185436, #0000185828, #0000185830, #0000185832, #0000186519, #0000186521, #000184062, #0000186900, #0000186902, #0000186904, #0000187357, #0000187359, #0000187400, #0000187402, #0000187769, #0000188028, #0000188030, #0000188045, #0000188114, #0000186600, #0000186910, #0000187155, #0000184691, #0000184963, #0000185381, and #0000185518."

The status of the recall is ongoing. The FDA did not list which pesticides were found on the tea, nor did it note if refunds would be issued for the products.

There Is Some Good News

It’s listed as a Class III recall which the FDA explains as “a situation in which use of, or exposure to, a violative product is not likely to cause adverse health consequences.” That should make you feel a little better if you discover you have one of the affected lots and have already steeped a bag or two.

What Pesticide Was It In Contact With?

The recall didn’t list what pesticide the product tested positive for but some pesticides can lead to cancer, immune and nervous system problems or reproductive issues in humans. Even if the recall is Class III, you probably don’t want to take your chances and would be wise to dump the box in the trash.

You can read more online here.