• by Tanya Gazdik , May 21, 2024

Thousands of bags of Organic Yogi Echinacea Immune Support tea have been voluntarily recalled by the East West Tea Company after pesticide residues were detected at levels unsafe for consumption.

“The traces of pesticides were found as part of routine audit procedures, according to a statement from Yogi,” perUSA Today. “The company said that it doesn't use pesticides in its farming, but they can drift onto their land if a neighboring farm is applying pesticides or chemical fertilizers. Yogi also said that the traces of pesticides found in the Echinacea posed no risk of harm or illness, but that the product did not meet its high-quality standards.”

The U.S. Food & Drug Administration was notified by Yogi and is still investigating the recall of the more than 54,000 boxes containing nearly 900,000 bags that showed toxicity above action level.

“The recall was a Class III, according to the FDA site, meaning that ‘use of or exposure to a violative product is not likely to cause adverse health consequences,’” according toNewsweek. 

Many lot numbers are impacted, and the full list of recalled tea boxes is available at this link. If customers find one of the recalled teas in their possession, they should immediately discard it.

“It's unclear if East West Tea Company is offering a refund or exchange for the recalled items,” according to Newsweek. “The FDA has issued dozens of food-related recalls since the start of the year, as well as 234 recalls in 2023.”

"The impacted Yogi brand tea — which is distributed by the East West Tea Company, based in Oregon — was sold in stores across the U.S. in boxes of 16 bags, with either four or six packs,” according toPeople.