DisOrganic

There’s nothing like a relaxing cup of tea. There are physical benefits which can be derived from the substance. Studies show that green tea lowers total cholesterol and raises HDL, a double good wammy. It may help prevent atherosclerosis and helps protect against cancer. Green tea may also help with liver disease, weight loss, and diabetes.

Tea is more than just a molecular soup that happens to mend and prepare the body, it also nourishes the soul. For my family and many others, to have tea is to mentally recline on the most cozy of armchairs. A sense of harmony wafts up from this simple steaming concoction of boiling water and dried leaves. As you grip the hot ceramic cup a calming serenity infuses your hands and works it’s way down your arms, through your core, and finally down your legs. You’re now ready for whatever is next. If it was chamomile you are ready for a good nights sleep. If black tea then you’re ready to tackle the rest of the day with renewed energy and vigor.

These are my thoughts, my expectation of the wonderful effects of this ancient brew, every time I prepare this delicious drink. So imagine my disgust and horror when I took out a brand new bag of San Francisco Herb Company Ambrosia Tea and found a crushed capsule (pictured above) in the still sealed bag. One second I had high hopes of communion with the world, the next a sickening punch in the stomach. I later realized exactly what this feeling was. It’s the feeling of betrayal.

Every United States Citizen has an innate trust of products purchased from retailers. It’s such an intimate relationship we share with the people who provide us with the food and beverages we consume every day. When we buy a package of processed food we don’t even check it. The trust we have in the system is absolute. We don’t think twice about opening a can of chicken soup. I mean, that IS chicken … right? There’s no way that guy at the fast food place put any foreign objects in my meal. These thoughts are completely foreign to many or most of us. It’s a basic, fundamental truth: food is sacred.

My significant other and I went out and enjoyed a beautiful sunny Saturday in the San Francisco Bay Area. We stopped at the farmers market on the embarcadero, had lunch at the Cliff House, and froliced in Golden Gate park. On our way home we did some shopping. The San Francisco Herb Company has been in business for over 35 years and was recommended to us by several people. We stopped in and bought a wide assortment of spices, of which they have very good prices and a wide assortment to choose from. One of the items we purchased was their Ambrosia Tea. This comes in a 1 lb clear cellophane bag with a simple San Francisco Herb Co label on it. The label has various bits of information including a lot number of 131. It says it contains Apricot Tea, Black Currant Tea, Mango Tea, Rose Hips, Orange Peel, and Cinnamon Chips.

Later that week we brought the tea out in high hopes of finding a new and wonderful tea to enjoy. When my fiance grabbed the bag and was just about to open it she noticed a flash of pink and white in the otherwise montage of browns and tans. It was a capsule (as seen above). The capsule has the letters BUDE on it and 400. I called the San Francisco Herb Co the next morning and wrote down the critical points as I talked with both the woman who originally picked up the phone and the manager. This is a rough sketch of how it went:

me: “Hello, I wanted to inform you I found an unidentified capsule in a bag of tea I purchased from you folks”
worker: “Oh, we sell empty capsules so you can make your own pills. Some of them probably fell in by accident”
me: “Oh great! If you can just tell me what color it is I’ll be thrilled to put this to rest”
worker: “Well they’re just clear capsules”
me: “Oh that’s not good. Can I talk to a manager please”
manager: “Hello”
me: “Hello. There appears to be a drug in a bag of tea I bought from you guys.”
manager: “Well bring it back, we’ll refund you’re money”
me: “This bag of tea has a lot number on it. And the capsule is crushed, don’t you want to issue a recall or something?”
manager: “No. We get people bringing tea back all the time. We’ve had nails, cardboard, and ciggarette butts. Besides, we don’t know if what you have is a drug. We don’t have a lab and I doubt the owner will send it to one. We’ve been in this business a long time and never had anything sent to the lab. Our product comes from overseas. Getting stuff in the product is a reality of the business. It’s called ‘hand cleaning’.”
me: “So that’s it? I can bring it in and you’ll give me my money back and then not do anything with it”
manager: “Right. We take care of our customers.”
me: “That’s not my opinion. There’s a DRUG in the TEA you sold me. You’re telling me you’re going to do NOTHING about this?”
manager: “Well you as a consumer can take it to a lab and have it tested. You can also contact the Department of Health and file a complaint.”
me: “Thank you for the suggestion. I will call the Department of Health and look into figuring out what this is.”

I filed a complaint with the Department of Health. It’s a very simple processes. They have an inspector call you back and take all of the information. They requested a picture and some other misc info. I emailed them several weeks later to see if there was any follow up. There was none. They didn’t have any clue as to what the capsule might be and they didn’t say anything regarding if anything had come of their investigation into the company.

I also searched online at various pill identification web sites such as drugs.com with no success. I even posted on drug.coms pill identification forums for anyone who might know something. Still nothing. And that brings us to the current status of this case. It’s in limbo.

What do you think I should do? Do you have any idea what substance may have been in this capsule? Do you think it is okay to have nails, cardboard, cigarette butts, or crushed capsules in a bag of tea or other products?

Sources and Further Reading:
acumedic.com, umm.edu, drugs.com, sfherb.com

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 4th, 2008 at 4:34 pm and is filed under Products. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.