Cheap tea 'may pose health risk'

In stark contrast to yesterday's online article in the Independent Cheap tea 'may pose health risk' that fluoride intake from tea can range from 6mg/L - 3.3mg/L for none pure tea blends in the UK the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) report fluoride levels in tea to be at levels below 0.8 mg/L.

The claim by the FSAI that the exposure estimates obtained in the study were compared with exposure standards established by international risk assessment bodies such as the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) and the former EU Scientific Committee for Food (SCF), in order to reach a conclusion regarding the risk to Irish consumers from the presence of chemicals in the food they eat and in the water they drink is false. As at the time according to published figures from the European Food Safety Authority and other noted scientific sources the fluoride content of tea can often exceed 5mg/l, especially when prepared with fluoridated tap water. The inaccuracies from the FSAI don't stop their either.

“One cup of tea contains 0.1mg of fluoride”. – Food Safety Authority of Ireland 2011
“One cup of tea contains 1–4mg of fluoride”. – World Health Organisation 2000

The deeply unsettling scientific flawed report by the FSAI was the first attempt by the government to calculate the exposure of the population to fluoride since fluorides introduction into the water supply some 49 years ago. The World Health Organization advise that prior to commencement of water fluoridation, authorities must accurately determine the total exposure of the population including all sensitive subgroups in order to avoid overexposure to fluoride.

The errors in the Total Diet Study report in 2011 in which the FSAI calculated the exposure of the population to chemicals, including fluoride, based on chemical analysis of certain foods and beverages represent a very significant margin of error and raise immediate concerns for the health and safety of consumers in Ireland. Minister for Health James Reilly and the Irish Expert Body on Fluoride and Health have incorrectly used the inaccurate FSAI report to justify the continued fluoridation of Irish drinking water.



Graph shows the contribution of food groups in which fluoride was detected as a percentage of total fluoride intake, including the contribution of drinking water and tea and coffee prepared using fluoridated tap water. According to the FSAI report fluoride intake from fluoridated tap water and intake from tea and coffee prepared using fluoridated tap water are the major contributors to fluoride intake by the Irish population, at 43.4% and 48.1% respectively.

Not only are we a nation of tea drinkers but we are also a nation who are mandatorily ingesting forced fluoridated water. I might just add that fluoride in Irish drinking water is outside the remit of the Irish Medicines Board as it is considered a public health measure in the field of preventive dentistry so we are solely reliant on the FSAI for accurate scientific facts.

Concerned? I know I am.