Chinese Green Tea May be Fatal

CHAN:
Green tea is well known world wide for its health benefits. Scientific research leads to the conclusion that it can help to fight virus's, slow aging and even cure depression, but as our reporter discovers the latest batch of Green Tea imported from China into New Zealand could have the opposite effect.

STORY:
Its 9am, time for a cup of tea right? Sounds pretty harmless but what if this cup of tea was your last?

The New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA) is warning people not to consume in any way seeds that may be found in a Chinese green tea. This product is sold under various brand names such as Heng Ming and Canton Love Pea tea. It is widely availed through out Asian supermarkets and Eastern medicine outlets.

[Geoff Allan, New Zealand Food Safety Authority]:
"If you consumed the seeds themselves, the toxins within the seeds are very poisonous and a small amount of that could very well prove to be fatal."

The tea was pulled from the shelves when an inspector found that its contents did not match what was written in the ingredients. It contained toxic pods that had not been removed. The product is now being withdrawn from sale and recalled by the importer.

But why is there such a huge amount of faulty and dangerous goods being produced in China? Let's go to our New York studio now to hear from China Dr Sean Linn, NTD China Analyst. Sean, can you tell us a bit more about why this is happening?

[Dr. Sean Lin, NTD China Analyst]:
"The Green Tea product that has been recalled this time, is supposed to be a dried leaf product of a plant called Abrus Cantoniensis. It should be common knowledge to the manufacturer that the leaf is beneficial for the stomach and liver but the seed is very poisonous. So obviously this time it is very poor product safety control, because even one single round of product safety should be able to identify that this seed is mixed with the green leaf."

Poisonous foods that hit western shores are but a drop in the ocean in comparison with what consumers have to deal with.

According to the editorial The Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party written by the Epoch Times a manufacturer from Henan Province produced thousands of tons of cooking oil every month using materials containing carcinogens such as waste oil, oil extracted from left-over meals, or industrial bi products that contained residual oils.

And it doesn't end there, food manufactures mix industrial alcohol with drinking wine, polish rice using industrial shortenings, and whiten bread flour with industrial brightening agents.

Dangerous goods keep coming out of China but this time it was discovered before any damage occurred.

NTD will continue to bring you further coverage on this issue. This is Gina Shakespear, NTD, New Zealand.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Chinese
• Green
• Tea
• May
• be
• Fatal
• New
• Zealand
• death
• ntd
• ntdtv
• news

[jb111jb111]

This is RIDICULOUS, and incredibly misleading. dkoh234 nailed it in their comment below. This isn't even talking about green tea. There is plenty of amazing quality tea coming out of china that is absolutely safe. This is the type of newscast that plainly shows how so much of today's media is more about getting a story than it is helping and informing the public.

[forestskog]

@Xennia2493 Ive been to China many times on business incl. food production and frankly, though I love China, right now I seriously am fed up with the lax standards in production. I would advise you to drink high quality Japanese green tea. I would also stay away from US owned companies. Half of them are owned by tobacco firms and they all put so much fake processed junk in their products. It pains me I'm American but our food companies are corrupt garbage! Go Japanese much higher standards.

[RedDaVincy]

@Xennia2493 You may be stupid.

[Xennia2493]

wait so if i drink green tea in america i should be fine? o_o because i am not sure if it is imported or something and i drink tea 5 times a day. someone tell me if i am going to be safe o_o

[dkoh234]

Tea is a product from Camellia sinensis not from Abrus Cantoniensis and to call the product even green tea is misleading. Boos... for NTD. This report is misleading. If you wan good quality tea get it from your respectable tea vendor. If you wan good quality chinese tea from china get it from a good vendor in China, The chinese tea from singapore, HK, etc are imported from respectable vendors in China. Dont just blacklist tea from China by sterotyping. Thumbs down for this video.

[Bobofet241]

All well and good New Zealand!.But what about the dropping of the deadly poison 1080 that your own Government endorses.Killing native animals,birds and poisoning the ground waters and being absorbed by plants?It's killing everything that eats the pellets and treated carrots more than the possums and rats you want dead.

[pinkytm1]

Interesting never new the seeds are toxic. I have seen bits of the seeds in gunpowder tea I have. I will pick them out if I ever notice them now :)

[krayzgerman]

I was so hungry but this is grossing me out.

[xwaystranger]

It should be obvious to any clear thinking person that China is an Insect Hive, where a person is considered just another insect, the same as the one next to them.

[kiikasi]

Gina Shakespeare... I love her just for her name :)