Quality Control and Safety Management of Tea

A special issue of Toxics (ISSN 2305-6304). This special issue belongs to the section "Agrochemicals and Food Toxicology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 March 2024) | Viewed by 8040

Special Issue Editors

State Key Laboratory of Tea Plant Biology and Utilization, School of Tea and Food Science & Technology, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, China
Interests: innovative method development; quality control in processing; risk assessment; authentication; fluoride and aluminum tolerance and control; hazards from Maillard reaction; metabonomics
State Key Laboratory of Tea Plant Biology and Utilization, School of Tea and Food Science & Technology, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, China
Interests: methodology; authentication; fluoride bioavailability; defluorination; heavy metal; food packaging pollution
State Key Laboratory of Tea Plant Biology and Utilization, School of Tea and Food Science & Technology, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, China
Interests: methodology; analytical chemistry; pesticide accumulation; pesticide metabolism; pesticide residues; SERS; metabonomics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Tea is, after water, the most popular non-alcoholic caffeinated beverage in the world, and offers a wealth of health benefits. Many environmental factors and processing factors introduce or generate pollutants during planting or tea processing. Pollutants such as pesticide residues, heavy metals, emerging pollutants, excessive fluoride and aluminum, etc. present a global quality challenge with potentially serious threats to human health. Detailed research on tea safety and quality control is necessary and urgent. This Special Issue focuses on the accumulation and metabolism of pollutants in tea plants, the variation of pollutants during tea processing, pollutant risk assessment in tea products, as well as safety management for pollutant control. Original research papers, reviews, and short communications are all welcome.

Dr. Chuanyi Peng
Prof. Huimei Cai
Prof. Dr. Ruyan Hou
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • Camellia sinensis
  • pesticide residue
  • heavy metal
  • emerging pollutant
  • fluoride
  • aluminum
  • disease
  • insect pest
  • weed
  • quality control
  • risk assessment

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 1482 KiB  
Article
The Application of Cold-Induced Liquid–Liquid Extraction for the Determination of 4-Methylimidazole in Tea and Associated Risk Assessment for Chinese Tea Consumers
by Shaohua Li, Lian Wang, Dawei Chen and Hong Li
Toxics 2023, 11(11), 916; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics11110916 - 09 Nov 2023
Viewed by 692
Abstract
4-Methylimidazole (4-MEI), as a Maillard reaction product, often occurs in heat-processed food. Due to its widespread occurrence and strong carcinogenicity in food and beverages, 4-MEI has received attention from regulatory organizations and consumers. Some studies have reported the occurrence and exposure of 4-MEI [...] Read more.
4-Methylimidazole (4-MEI), as a Maillard reaction product, often occurs in heat-processed food. Due to its widespread occurrence and strong carcinogenicity in food and beverages, 4-MEI has received attention from regulatory organizations and consumers. Some studies have reported the occurrence and exposure of 4-MEI in food, but few studies have involved traditional tea beverages, which is related to the limited analytical methods currently being influenced by complex tea matrices. For this issue, this study presents a simple, reliable, and highly sensitive analytical method for the determination of 4-MEI in tea using liquid chromatography–high resolution mass spectrometry. By means of this method, a total of 570 tea samples from typical tea-producing regions in China were monitored for contamination of 4-MEI. The results showed that the average 4-MEI level (136 μg/kg) in oolong tea was significantly higher than that in other types of tea samples. Based on contamination levels and tea consumption data in China, the daily intake doses (0.04–1.16 μg/day) of 4-MEI among tea consumers were obtained. As a result, the health risk of Chinese tea consumers consuming 4-MEI alone through tea consumption is relatively low, but the overall intake level of 4-MEI in other foods cannot be ignored. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Quality Control and Safety Management of Tea)
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12 pages, 11954 KiB  
Article
Simultaneous Analysis of 53 Pesticides in Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) by Using LC–MS/MS Coupled with a Modified QuEChERS Technique
by Wei Song, Chuanyi Peng, Yuxin Liu, Fang Han, Haitao Zhu, Dianbing Zhou, Yu Wang, Lijun Chen, Xiaodi Meng and Ruyan Hou
Toxics 2023, 11(6), 537; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics11060537 - 16 Jun 2023
Viewed by 1040
Abstract
Objective: An optimized quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe (QuEChERS) technique was investigated and compared with the conventional QuEChERS technique for the simultaneous analysis of fifty-three pesticide residues in safflower using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC–MS/MS). Method: Graphitic carbon nitride [...] Read more.
Objective: An optimized quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe (QuEChERS) technique was investigated and compared with the conventional QuEChERS technique for the simultaneous analysis of fifty-three pesticide residues in safflower using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC–MS/MS). Method: Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) consisting of a major amount of carbon and nitrogen with a large surface area was used as a QuEChERS adsorbent instead of graphitized carbon black (GCB) for safflower extraction purification. Validation experiments were performed using spiked pesticide samples, and real samples were analyzed. Results: The linearity of the modified QuEChERS technique was evaluated with high coefficients of determination (R-2) being higher than 0.99. The limits of detection were <10 μg/kg. The spiked recoveries ranged from 70.4% to 97.6% with a relative standard deviation of less than 10.0%. The fifty-three pesticides exhibited negligible matrix effects (<20%). Thiamethoxam, acetamiprid, metolachlor, and difenoconazole were detected in real samples using an established method. Conclusion: This work provides a new g-C3N4-based modified QuEChERS technique for multi-pesticide residue analysis in complex food matrices. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Quality Control and Safety Management of Tea)
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11 pages, 1432 KiB  
Article
Quality Characteristics of Karst Plateau Tea (Niaowang) in Southwest China and Their Relationship with Trace Elements
by Yongcheng Jiang, Zhenming Zhang and Jiachun Zhang
Toxics 2023, 11(6), 502; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics11060502 - 02 Jun 2023
Viewed by 996
Abstract
This study investigated the relationship between the characteristics of quality components and trace elements of Niaowang tea from Guizhou Province in mountainous plateau areas. The contents of catechin monomers and eight other trace elements were measured using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and inductively [...] Read more.
This study investigated the relationship between the characteristics of quality components and trace elements of Niaowang tea from Guizhou Province in mountainous plateau areas. The contents of catechin monomers and eight other trace elements were measured using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), respectively. The results showed that the tender summer leaves of Niaowang tea in Guizhou Province had the highest content of catechins at 3558.15~2226.52 μg·g−1. The content of ester catechins was the highest in summer, amounting to 69.75~72.42% of the total catechins. The content of non-ester catechins was the highest in autumn, reaching 52.54~62.28% of the total catechins; among ester catechins, the mass fraction of epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) showed a pattern of mature summer leaves > tender summer leaves > mature autumn leaves > tender autumn leaves, and the mass fractions of gallocatechin gallate (GCG) and epicatechin gallate (ECG) were larger in autumn than in summer; gallocatechin (GC) had no significant correlation with different trace elements, and Mn had no significant correlations with different catechin monomers. EGCG was significantly negatively correlated with As, Se, Hg, Pb, Ni, and Zn. Additionally, gallic acid (GA) was significantly negatively correlated with As, Hg and Ni. Other catechin monomers were largely significantly positively correlated with trace elements. The biochemical indicators of the phenotype of Niaowang tea show that the summer and autumn buds are suited for making high-quality green tea. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Quality Control and Safety Management of Tea)
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14 pages, 1540 KiB  
Article
Effects of Shellfish and Organic Fertilizer Amendments on Soil Nutrients and Tea Yield and Quality
by Wenbin Liu, Shiyu Cui, Jiawei Ma, Dongtao Wu, Zhengqian Ye and Dan Liu
Toxics 2023, 11(3), 262; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics11030262 - 12 Mar 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1741
Abstract
Soil acidification in tea plantations leads to an excessive heavy metal content in tea, decreasing its yield and quality. How to apply shellfish and organic fertilizers to improve soil and ensure the safe production of tea is still not clear. A two-year field [...] Read more.
Soil acidification in tea plantations leads to an excessive heavy metal content in tea, decreasing its yield and quality. How to apply shellfish and organic fertilizers to improve soil and ensure the safe production of tea is still not clear. A two-year field experiment was conducted in tea plantations in which the soil was characterized by a pH of 4.16 and concentrations of lead (Pb) (85.28 mg/kg) and cadmium (Cd) (0.43 mg/kg) exceeding the standard. We used shellfish amendments (750, 1500, 2250 kg/ha) and organic fertilizers (3750, 7500 kg/ha) to amend the soils. The experimental results showed that compared with the treatment without any amendment (CK), the soil pH increased by 0.46 on average; the soil available nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium contents increased by 21.68%, 19.01%, and 17.51% respectively; and the soil available Pb, Cd, Cr, and As contents decreased by 24.64%, 24.36%, 20.83%, and 26.39%, respectively. In comparison to CK, the average yield of tea also increased by 90.94 kg/ha; tea polyphenols, free amino acids, caffeine, and water extract increased by 9.17%, 15.71%, 7.54%, and 5.27%, respectively; and the contents of Pb, Cd, As, and Cr in the tea decreased significantly (p < 0.05) by 29.44–61.38%, 21.43–61.38%, 10.43–25.22%, and 10.00–33.33%, respectively. The greatest effects on all parameters occurred with the largest amendment of both shellfish (2250 kg/ha) and organic fertilizer (7500 kg/ha) combined. This finding suggests that the optimized amendment of shellfish could be used as a technical measure to improve the health quality of both soil and tea in acidified tea plantations in the future. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Quality Control and Safety Management of Tea)
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11 pages, 273 KiB  
Article
GC-MS and LC-MS Pesticide Analysis of Black Teas Originating from Sri Lanka, Iran, Turkey, and India
by Kasim Takim and Mehmet Emin Aydemir
Toxics 2023, 11(1), 34; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics11010034 - 30 Dec 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2538
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to investigate pesticide residues in the imported and domestic tea sold in Turkey and to detect their compliance with maximum residue limits (MRL) and Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI). A total of 79 samples were analyzed by using [...] Read more.
The purpose of this study is to investigate pesticide residues in the imported and domestic tea sold in Turkey and to detect their compliance with maximum residue limits (MRL) and Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI). A total of 79 samples were analyzed by using LC-MS/MS and GC-MS devices with AOAC 2007.01 method to investigate 603 pesticide residues. According to the results, pesticide residues were found in a total of 28 tea samples. Pesticide residues were found in the countries of origin at the rates as follows: Iran (100%), India (33.3%) and Sri Lanka (17.3%). No pesticide residue was detected in the tea produced in Turkey. The compounds such as Diuron, Ethion, Cypermethrin, Thiacloprid, Thiamethoxam, Fenpyroximate, Acetamiprid, Imidacloprid, Flubendiamide, Deltamethrin and Hexythiazox were detected in positive samples. Seven types of pesticide residues exceeded the MRL determined by the Turkish Food Codex for 15 types (53.57%) for 28 samples with pesticide residue detected. Additionally, 4 types of pesticide residues were determined to exceed the ADI determined by the Codex Alimentarius for 13 (46.42%) of 28 samples with pesticide residue detected. These results have showed that the imported tea entering Turkey was not adequately analyzed in the customs control laboratories or the maximum residual limits were not clearly determined. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Quality Control and Safety Management of Tea)
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