# Will have to clean out my stock of teas if this is true



## TICA (Jun 17, 2013)

http://www.honeycolony.com/article/dangerously-high-pesticide-levels-in-brand-name-tea/


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## rkunsaw (Jun 17, 2013)

This is scary in two ways. 

We don't know what might be in our food and drinks.

And we don't know who's just trying to make money.


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## SeaBreeze (Jun 17, 2013)

There's so many chemicals and toxins in so much of our food and beverages, it no wonder cancers, etc. have run rampant...with GMOs, it won't be getting any better either! :mad2:I figure the most we can do is try to buy organic products only, but that is not always easy to do, and more costly.


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## That Guy (Jun 17, 2013)

Great.  Just great . . .  @#%^&*!!!


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## SifuPhil (Jun 17, 2013)

Interesting, since they state right on their site that:



> Celestial Seasonings employs a rigorous testing protocol to ensure all  products adhere to strict industry standards. Celestial follows  regulations set by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and  Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  In addition, when a standard has  not been established, Celestial utilizes standards set by United States  Pharmacopial Convention (USP), the European Union Pharmacopial  Convention (EU), and CODEX Alimentarius International Food Standards  (established by the World Health Organization and the Food and  Agriculture Organization of the United Nations).   Our testing  methodology covers three times the recommended agricultural residues  tested in the USP standard.


source

I guess when you stop gathering the herbs by hand in your backyard and start sourcing from over 35 different countries you're going to start losing control of your quality, no matter HOW rigorously you test.

I was never a big CS drinker - they were always a little TOO hippy, too New Age for my taste. They tried a little too hard. Just my opinion ...


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## MercyL (Jun 17, 2013)

I am not completely surprised at this news addressing unacceptable level of pesticides in Celestial Seasonings Teas, but I do not completely trust this article. The report admits that both Hain Celestial and Glaucus Research benefit from this news, so I would not be surprised by reports of Celestial Seasonings being harvested by Glaucus Research before summer's end.

Also, the author of this article is a freelancer, through The Examiner. He endorses a competing brand of tea without providing charts comparing Celestial Seasons to several competitors, painting an incomplete picture of the industry's quality control successes and failures through the years. 

If memory serves,  Celestial Seasonings began as a "hippie owned and operated' business back in 1969. That ended in 1984 when Kraft Foods purchased the company. After several years, Celestial Seasonings merged with Hain Food Group to become Hain Celestial. The last of the original owners of Celestial Seasonings, Mo Siegel, has not controlled the company since 2002.

I am not tossing my Red Zinger, just yet. Celestial Seasonings was once a trusted company and, with the release of this study's findings, they will probably make changes to their farming policies.


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## SifuPhil (Jun 17, 2013)

MercyL said:


> ... I am not tossing my Red Zinger, just yet. Celestial Seasonings was once a trusted company and, with the release of this study's findings, they will probably make changes to their farming policies.



Do they even _farm_ anymore? I was under the impression that they're merely importers and re-packagers now ... 

The company I worked for, General Foods, was purchased in 1985 by Philip Morris, 3 years later Morris purchased Kraft and combined everything under the Kraft name. Let me tell you something - if Kraft still works the way they were working back then, I wouldn't trust CS. It was all about the bottom-line, at the expense of safety and quality.


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## JustBonee (Jun 17, 2013)

SeaBreeze said:


> There's so many chemicals and toxins in so much of our food and beverages, it no wonder cancers, etc. have run rampant...with GMOs, it won't be getting any better either! :mad2:I figure the most we can do is try to buy organic products only, but that is not always easy to do, and more costly.



Yeah, and organic only covers so many things. 

The wheat issue coming to light now is another headache. ... as in ALL products made with wheat.  The wheat we eat in 2013 is not the same wheat we had in products back in the 50's when farmers grew wheat in their fields.


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## Anne (Jun 17, 2013)

From the article: 

 Celestial follows  regulations set by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and  Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  In addition, when a standard has  not been established, Celestial utilizes standards set by United States  Pharmacopial Convention (USP), the European Union Pharmacopial  Convention (EU), and CODEX Alimentarius International Food Standards  (established by the World Health Organization and the Food and  Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Hmmm...FDA...EPA...EU...CODEX...WHO...UN??   I wouldn't trust *any* of those organizations to verify that my food was safe.


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## JustBonee (Jun 17, 2013)

Anne said:


> Hmmm...FDA...EPA...EU...CODEX...WHO...UN??   I wouldn't trust *any* of those organizations to verify that my food was safe.


I fully agree Anne.   They have their own agendas, and their own broad standards that have nothing to do with our food safety.


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## Happyflowerlady (Jun 18, 2013)

View attachment 927There seem to be a lot of the mainstream companies that use GMO foods, and are against having that information on labels.
I was just reading tonite that some of the rice grown right here in America has human DNA in it. I can't even begin to imagine WHY they would want to add our DNA to something like RICE ? I don't know if it is true, but if so, it seems pretty crazy to me.
If Celestial Seasonings tea has pesticides in it, so probably does a lot of the other food we eat, especially when so much of everything now comes from China.
Here  is a chart that shows some of the companies that support no labeling of GMO in food.


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## That Guy (Jun 19, 2013)




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## Anne (Jun 19, 2013)

Happyflowerlady said:


> iThere seem to be a lot of the mainstream companies that use GMO foods, and are against having that information on labels.
> i was just reading tonite that some of the rice grown right here on America has human DNA in it. I can't even Elgin to imagine WHY they would want to add our DNA to something like RICE ? I don't know if it is true, but if so, it seems pretty crazy to me.
> if Celestial Seasonings tea has pesticides in it, so probably does a lot of the other food we eat, especially when so much of everything now comes from China.
> Here  is a chart that shows some of the companies that support no labeling of GMO in food.



you know the bottom line is money.....that just makes me sick.


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## missybkt (Jun 20, 2013)

You're right...this is VERY scary.  There is so much "bad" stuff out there now that the only way to be sure (hopefully) that what you put in your mouth is safe is to go organic.  I am slowly trying to work my way in that direction, but it is so expensive.  I wish they would reverse the prices of foods making the organic the cheaper and the junk food the more expensive food, this way everyone could get the healthy choices and our society would be better off for it!


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## SifuPhil (Jun 20, 2013)

missybkt said:


> You're right...this is VERY scary.  There is so much "bad" stuff out there now that the only way to be sure (hopefully) that what you put in your mouth is safe is to go organic.  I am slowly trying to work my way in that direction, but it is so expensive.  I wish they would reverse the prices of foods making the organic the cheaper and the junk food the more expensive food, this way everyone could get the healthy choices and our society would be better off for it!



Unfortunately, even buying organic produce can be like buying a pig in a poke these days. There is no official certification or certifying organization for "organic", so theoretically you could be buying some GMO or pesticide-laced product. 

Our local farmer's market had a bit of an uproar last year when one of the vendors was discovered to be using some nasty pesticides on his crop, yet still labeling it as "Totally Organic". 

I guess all we can really do is know our growers or grow it ourselves.


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## That Guy (Jun 20, 2013)




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## Mike (Jul 12, 2013)

You never really know what unwanted extras you are eating in
your food & drink.

Here is a link that applies to the UK, but will be of interest to you
all no matter where you live. It lists Pesticides that are found in
our food.

http://www.pan-uk.org/food/30-most-commonly-found-pesticides

Mike.


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