Thank you for the comment and question. Yes, samples from the 2013 crop continue to be tested for radiation and we plan to request radiation results for several years to come. The organic certification does work in our favor too. Because organic agriculture has more rigorous testing standards and more testing touch points, I believe potential problems have a greater likelihood of being found. It is yet another step in the right direction.

Aubrey
Arbor Teas

Also, does the fact that the tea is organic also mean it is further tested for these types of things?

Thank you!

As of now (Nov 2012), Arbor Teas is still selling Organic Genmaicha Green Tea from pre-earthquake harvests as we continue to try to find an equivalent alternative from a new source. All of our other Japanese teas are from post-earthquake harvests. Additionally, the Japanese testing standards for acceptable levels of radiation are actually more strict than USA standards.

Aubrey
Arbor Teas

Thanks for the comments. Yes, radiation testing continues into 2012. The Japanese Government regulations have changed a bit for tea as of April 1, 2012. The previous Japanese guideline was set at a maximum of 500 bq/kg for the total concentration of CS-131 and CS-134. The new regulations, as of April 1, changed that concentration to 100 bq/kg. There has been some controversy around this new regulation because it also changes the way the radiation is tested. The previous regulations tested the dry tea leaf, whereas the new regulations test the brew from the tea leaf. Some argue that this new regulation is more closely aligned with what the consumer will actually experience and, while the new regulations appear “lower”, they are the same. Others argue that the new “lower” regulations make the Japanese government appear as if they are becoming more strict, when they are really changing the testing environment completely (by changing from dry leaf to brew) in order to lessen the strictness. Whichever way you cut it, the Japanese guidelines are still much stricter than the US and European guidelines. For testing dry leaf, the United States guideline is 1,200 bq/kg while the EU guideline is 1,000 bq/kg (compared to the Japan guideline 500 bq/kg). Japan is also still posting all the test results in English at: http://www.mhlw.go.jp/english/topics/2011eq/index.html

Additionally, Arbor Teas continues to work with our tea gardens to test our Japanese Green Tea by an independent third party and the results have returned very low or undetected.

Aubrey
Arbor Teas

I have not heard that information. I believe Japan still considers any food with a cesium reading above 500 Becquerel’s per kg (Bq/kg) as unsafe. In contrast, the US Food and Drug Administration sets an intervention level of 1200 bq/kg becquerels per kilogram for cesium.