Analysis on sampling inspection results of quality and safety of tea substitutes commercially available in Hebei Province

ObjectiveTo assess the quality and safety of tea substitutes sold in Hebei Province.MethodsSixty-three samples of tea substitutes were collected from the markets of three cities in Hebei Province. Each sample was tested for moulds， coliforms， cadmium， moisture and ash content according to national standard methods. The test results were assessed in terms of qualification according to local safety standard of Hebei Province for tea substitutes.ResultsAmong the 63 samples， 16 samples had moulds counts exceeding the limit. The over-limit rate for moulds was 25.4%； the moulds contents varied from 140~18 000 CFU/g in over-limit samples with the median of 600 CFU/g. Four samples were found to exceed the limit of coliforms with a 6.3% （4/63） over-limit rate. The coliforms measurements of over-limit samples were between 7.5~110 MPN/g with the median of 110 MPN/g. One sample was over limit for cadmium with the content of 9.6 mg/kg. The test results for moisture and ash content of the 63 samples were all in accordance with the standard. Among the 63 samples， 46 samples were qualified for all measurements， and the total qualified rate was 73.0% （46/63）. There was no statistics difference in the qualified rate of tea substitutes among different producing areas and different product types.ConclusionThe unqualified rate of the tea substitutes sold in Hebei Province was high. Most unqualified samples exceeded the standard for mold， while a few samples exceeded the standard for coliforms and cadmium.