Estimated daily intake of epichlorohydrin and certain heavy metals of bagged and loose black teas.

This study aimed to determine the levels of epichlorohydrin (ECH) and some metals in 3 brands of bagged and loose black teas which are widely marketed in Alexandria markets, Egypt, and estimate the acceptable daily intake as a safety indicator. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry results revealed that ECH levels significantly differed between the tested brands steeped for 2 min and tea bags contained higher levels than in loose teas and the levels increased by increasing the steep time. These levels of ECH in all the tested brands either in tea bags or loose teas were higher than the guideline value of 0.