[Residual pesticide concentrations after processing various types of tea and tea infusions]

The effects of processing to produce various types of tea or infusion on the levels of pesticide residues in tea were investigated for three insecticides (chlorfenapyr, pyrimiphos-methyl, and clothianidin). Tea plants were sprayed with one of the three pesticides and cultivated under cover. The levels of pesticide residues in tea decreased after processing according to the time and temperature of heating, as well as fermentation. Although significant differences were not observed among the three pesticides in the ratio of decreased of pesticide concentration after processing to green tea, clothianidin, which is a neonicotinoid insecticide and has a lower log Pow value, tended to be transferred more than the other two insecticides into infusions. However, no significant difference in the ratios of clothianidin transferred to infusions was observed among green tea with three different leaf sizes.