BIS bans teabags containing chemical: How to check whether your teabag is safe

India has banned teabags containing epichlorohydrin, a chemical compound that is harmful to health. The authorities have also issued guidelines to ensure the quality of tea leaves, green tea, and other tea varieties packed in teabags. Epichlorohydrin, which is used for bleaching the tea bags, was banned after it was found that it could cause severe diseases, including cancer. It is the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) that has imposed such stricter regulations in the teabag industry for the first time in the country.

Is your teabag safe?
The advisory also contains guidelines to ensure the quality of the tea bags. The label should contain the producer's name, address, batch number, date of production, and expiry date. The Ministry of Consumer Affairs had long been considering issuing safety guidelines to ensure the quality of teabags widely used in offices, hotels, aeroplanes, and trains. The BIS has instructed to ensure the quality of the raw materials used to make teabags, including thread, fasteners, tags, ink, and adhesive.

Migrating test
According to the new guidelines, the teabag paper, tag, and thread should all pass the migration test. It is a scientific test conducted to ensure that the chemical compounds present in these materials do not mix into the tea during preparation.

Main instructions
• Teabags should be made only using the virgin pulp of the papyrus tree or bamboo.
• Plantain fibres could be used for increasing the durability of the teabag; other substances shouldn’t be used.
• Teabags made using microplastics are banned.

• The thread that attaches the teabag to the tag should only be made using cotton.
• A single-use teabag should contain one to four grams of tea.
• Bigger teabags that could be used more than one time should contain 4 – 25 grams of tea.
• Food-grade ink should be used for writing the name of the brand on the tag.