BfR | Annual Report 2013
46
However, the MOE values for the intake of PAs are well below 10,000 in
people who drink large quantities of herbal tea and tea over a longer
period of time. In the event of the consumption of products with high
PA concentrations in particular, there is a risk of health impairment, par-
ticularly in the case of children, pregnant women and nursing mothers.
Any statements on the probability of impairment to health due to the
regular consumption of highly contaminated tea infusions is subject to
major uncertainty, as there are considerable fluctuations in concentra-
tion data between the different tea varieties, and sometimes also for the
same tea variety.
The potential risk for the consumer can be mitigated by following the
general recommendation for variety and alternatives in the choice of
foods. This can prevent one-sided burdens of various potentially health-
threatening substances that must be expected to sporadically occur in
low amounts in food. Parents in particular are advised not to exclusively
offer their children herbal teas and tea. Pregnant and breastfeeding
women should vary their consumption of herbal teas and tea with other
beverages.
A potential health risk exists for people who consume large amounts
of herbal tea and tea with high pyrrolizidine alkaloid concentrations
over long periods of time.
>>
Consumers should choose a varied and diverse range
of food and drinks. This prevents one-sided burdens
with potentially health-threatening substances like
pyrrolizidine alkaloids.
