Tea is a very popular drink in India. Indians drink more tea than people in any other country in the world.
But the international environmental group Greenpeace says it has tested various brands of tea produced and sold in India and found "unacceptable levels" of dangerous chemicals in them.
The Indian branch of Greenpeace complained in a report on Monday that all the pesticides identified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as high and moderate harmful were found to be more prevalent in various top Indian brands.
These include Hindustan Unilever and Tata Global Beverages Ltd. - which make Lipton and Tetley teas. In some cases, it contains pesticides that are not approved for use in tea cultivation.
The company says that from June 2013 to May this year, it tested samples of tea produced by eight of India's top 11 companies.
Greenpeace India says it has found DDT in 80 per cent of its samples - which was banned from being used in agriculture in India in 1989. The report did not say exactly which company used it.
Neha Saigal of Greenpeace says her organization acknowledges that Indian tea is of high quality and a matter of national pride - but they are concerned about the long-term effects of pesticide use.
Greenpeace India says it does not want to intimidate consumers, or advise people not to drink tea. They say they are working with producers to phase out the use of harmful pesticides in tea cultivation.
The tea samples used in the Greenpeace survey were taken from the Indian market and they do not know whether the same tea is exported abroad.
Indian tea growers say they use pesticides - but not illegally.
Southern Tea Planters Association Mr. According to Radhakrishnan, tea is safe to drink as it is processed.
Greenpeace says most of the companies they named in the survey, including Unilever and Tata Global, responded to the survey.
They say Unilever says it is going to undertake large-scale scientific research aimed at pesticide-free management. However, Tata is still following the traditional method of combining both organic and chemical control methods.
The Tea Board of India, India's state-run tea producer and exporter, has rejected Greenpeace's claim in a statement.
"We have reviewed this report from Greenpeace and are making sure that all sample testing is in compliance with Indian laws and regulations - aimed at protecting consumers," they said.
A statement from the Tea Board of India said, "Indian tea, made through a strict quality control process, is considered completely safe worldwide."
