Evaluation of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Content and Risk Assessment of Tea Products in South Korea

This study investigated the levels of four polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (BaA, CHR, BbF, and BaP) in 11 types of 100 commercially available tea products using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and also evaluated potential dietary risks, toxic equivalency (TEQ), and margin of exposure (MOE). Method validation demonstrated strong linearity of the calibration curves for all four PAHs (R² > 0.99) over a concentration range of 1–20 μg/kg. The LOD for the four PAHs ranged from 0.0610 to 0.1534 μg/kg in the solid matrix and from 0.0035 to 0.0064 μg/kg in the liquid matrix, with corresponding LOQ ranging from 0.1849 to 0.4648 μg/kg in the solid matrix and from 0.0107 to 0.0194 μg/kg in the liquid matrix. All recovery rates were within the acceptable range, demonstrating satisfactory performance, and both intraday and interday accuracy and precision were within acceptable limits, meeting international validation criteria. Among the samples, yerba mate tea (33.58 μg/kg), herbal tea (24.05 μg/kg), and oolong tea (23.21 μg/kg) showed the highest Σ4PAH concentrations. Based on these results, TEQ_BaP and MOE values were calculated for the positive samples. All three teas with detectable PAHs exhibited MOE values above 10,000, indicating a low level of potential carcinogenic risk. However, the presence of PAHs in certain tea types highlights the importance of ongoing monitoring, regulatory oversight, and risk communication to ensure consumer safety.