CHARLOTTE — Bubble tea keeps growing in popularity. Fans love those tapioca boba pearls, made from cassava, but safety testing from Consumer Reports suggests the popular drink may come with a serious hidden concern — lead.
“Cassava’s a root vegetable known to absorb lead and other heavy metals from soil,” Consumer Reports’ Kevin Loria said. “And because of that, we wanted to see how much lead and other heavy metals these drinks and pearls might contain.”
Consumer reports tested pearls from two major chains, Gong Cha and Kung Fu Tea, along with prepackaged boba from Trader Joe’s and Wu Fu Yuan.
Every single sample contained lead.
“While these levels weren’t so high we’d tell people to completely avoid bubble tea, the fact that we detected lead in all four products is a good reason to treat it as an occasional treat, and not an everyday staple,” Loria said.
Health exerts are clear on one point — no amount of lead is safe, and the risks are greatest for children and pregnant people.
Trader Joe’s told Consumer Reports it has discontinued its Instant Boba Kit.
Wu Fu Yuan’s parent company said “We take the safety of our products very seriously, and your outreach has prompted us to further improve our existing quality control measures.”
Kung Fu Tea and Gong Cha did not reply to CR’s request for comment.
“It’s impossible to completely avoid lead because it can be found in a variety of foods, including healthy ones, and your daily exposure can add up,” Loria said.
Because of that, Consumer Reports recommends having bubble tea and dark chocolate, which can also be higher in lead, only occasionally.
Experts also say eating a wide variety of healthy foods can help reduce your overall exposure to heavy metals.
Nutrients such as calcium, iron, and vitamin C may help counter some of the effects.
To learn more about the investigation, visit the Consumer Reports website for the full findings.
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