East West Tea Company recalls 877,000 bags of Organic Yogi Echinacea Immune Support tea due to “pesticide residues” so high, they triggered the FDA’s “action levels”

FDA announced that pesticide residues inside the more than 877,000 bags of tea "were detected above action levels," prompting an immediate recall.

By Ethan Huff 

May 20, 2024

Nearly a million bags of Organic Yogi Echinacea Immune Support tea from East West Tea Company, LLC are affected by a new recall concerning "pesticide residues" in the herbs.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that pesticide residues inside the more than 877,000 bags of tea "were detected above action levels," prompting an immediate recall.

"Organic Yogi Echinacea Immune Support, Caffeine Herbal Supplement, Serving Size 1 tea bag, 16 tea bags per pack, 4 packs per box," the FDA indicated in an announcement.

You can read the full FDA announcement over here.

"UPC on box: 0 76950 45010 3. CASE GTIN: 60076950450105. East West Tea Company, LLC Eugene, OR Yogi Echinacea Immune Support, Caffeine Herbal Supplement, 16 tea bags per pack, 6 Packs per box. UPC on box: 0 76950 45010 3. CASE GTIN: 20076950450107."

"The recall was initiated on March 12 with the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and the investigation is ongoing," added Simply Recipe to the conversation about the recall.

(Related: Last fall, HMC Farms recalled peaches and plums because the fruit was discovered to be contaminated with listeria.)

Pesticides destroying food, health

All of the affected tea included in the recall is sold in boxes. Each box contains four packs of tea and each pack contains 16 tea bags. All of them are marked with the following UPC:

0 76950 45010 3

The CASE GTIN on the recalled products are:

60076950450105

20076950450107

The recalled lot numbers include:

#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 #0000185518

Simply Recipes reported that some farmers simply cannot avoid pesticide residues because they are everywhere now in the environment, even in areas where safe agricultural practices are being followed.

"The FDA sets an 'action level' for these unavoidable pesticides," Simply Recipes added. "If a product is found to have pesticide residue above the action level, it is deemed unsafe to consume and is recalled."

"Neither the FDA nor the East West Tea Company has revealed the type and amount of pesticide chemicals that were found on the recalled tea product."

If you currently have an affected tea bag lot, please discard it or return it to the place where you purchased it for a full refund.

"So after paying a premium price for 'organic tea,' it's recalled because 'pesticide residues were detected above action levels,'" one commenter wrote about the irony of this.

"I thought people were paying for chemical-free tea? 'Organic' anything might be a rip-off because you never really know what you are getting while paying through the nose for that experience."

Another wrote that the United States today is so polluted that it probably makes no difference, unless it comes from a very small, remote farm, buying domestically-grown or raised "organic" food – but it is still probably a better bet than conventional, just to be clear.

"If this is happening in tea, it is happening to lots of other things," wrote another about pesticide and herbicide contamination in the food supply.

"The use of 'organic' today is basically the same as Bill Clinton's statement 'It depends on what the meaning of the word is is," joked another.

The latest news about the toxic food supply can be found at Toxins.news.

READ MORE:

Consumer Reports reveals certain food items carry high risk of PESTICIDE contamination

FDA warns consumers to throw away cheap cinnamon products that are heavily contaminated with LEAD

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