Why we test every batch
‍

Every tea we sell has been independently tested in Australia for heavy metals. Every result is on this page. Full PDF below.

Early 2024, US regulators flagged heavy metal levels in some imported Japanese tea. Nothing catastrophic, but enough that a lot of our customers, mostly women, mostly drinking matcha daily, some pregnant, some with young kids, started asking real questions.

We thought the question deserved a real answer. So instead of "trust us, our farm is good," we do this.

Every new batch of Teafy tea gets sent to a NATA accredited food safety lab in Werribee, Victoria. They test for the four heavy metals that actually matter in tea. The full results are on this page. The full PDF report is available for download at the top.

If anything ever comes back outside safe limits, we pull the batch and tell you. It hasn't happened. But we've promised ourselves and you that's how we'd handle it.
‍

"Good matcha should be safe matcha."

Who tested our tea

The lab is Agrifood Technology Pty Ltd, trading as Australian Wool Testing Authority (don't let the wool in the name confuse you, their food safety division is one of the oldest in the country and works with some of Australia's biggest food brands).

They're NATA accredited to ISO/IEC 17025 for testing, which is the international gold standard for laboratory competence. What that means in plain terms: an independent body (NATA, the National Association of Testing Authorities) has formally assessed their methods, their equipment, their staff training, and their quality systems, and re-assesses them on a rolling basis. This is not self-certification. It's the same accreditation used by forensic labs, government environmental monitoring, and clinical diagnostic pathology.

Accreditation number 2726. Site number 2719 in Werribee, Victoria.

The test method they use for heavy metals is ICP-MS (Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry). It's the standard technique for detecting metals at parts-per-billion levels in food and water. For mercury specifically, they run a separate cold vapour method because mercury requires it.

They issued our most recent report on 7 April 2026. Report number 485468. Job number J2603-2961. You can quote these numbers back to us and we'll confirm. You can also contact Agrifood directly if you want to verify independently. We encourage it.
‍

• Agrifood Technology Pty Ltd → https://agrifood.com.au/
• NATA accredited to ISO/IEC 17025 → https://nata.com.au/accredited-organisation/werribee-laboratory-2726-2719/
• NATA, the National Association of Testing Authorities → https://nata.com.au/

✓ NATA Accredited     ✓ ISO/IEC 17025     ✓ Werribee, Victoria

‍

What they tested for

Agrifood tested each of our eight teas for four heavy metals. These are the four that matter most in tea, because they're the ones plants absorb from soil, water, and air.

Here's something worth saying up front. Every plant food on earth contains trace heavy metals. This is not a matcha problem or a Japanese tea problem, it's a plant problem. Lead, arsenic, and cadmium exist in soil everywhere, because they're natural elements. Plants absorb them through their roots. Tea plants are particularly good at it, which is one reason matcha gets flagged in the news. The World Health Organization has publicly stated there's no known safe level of lead exposure, which is why measuring matters.

So when you see a tea brand claim "lead free" or "zero heavy metals" or "not detected," it usually means one of two things. Either they never tested, or they used a lab with detection limits so high that small amounts would register as zero. We don't do either.

We use a lab with detection limits as low as 0.010 mg/kg. Then we publish the numbers. Then we show you how those numbers compare to what regulators consider safe.

Here's what each metal is, and what we found.

‍
Lead (Pb)

What it is: A naturally occurring metal that's everywhere in soil and dust. It enters plants through the roots and leaves.

Why it matters: The World Health Organization states there is no known safe level of lead exposure. Long-term exposure can affect brain development in children and cause kidney and cardiovascular issues in adults.

What regulators say about tea: FSANZ (Food Standards Australia New Zealand) has no specific lead limit for tea. The closest reference is their 'generally expected level' for leafy vegetables, which sits at 0.3 mg/kg. California's Prop 65 sets a daily safe harbour of 0.5 micrograms per day.

Our highest result: 0.093 mg/kg (Fukamushi Sencha). At a 2g serve, that's 0.186 micrograms of lead. Around 37% of Prop 65's daily safe harbour, in one cup.

Arsenic (As)

What it is: A metalloid found in soil, rock, and groundwater. Plants pick it up through their roots, especially when grown in wet conditions like rice paddies.

Why it matters: Long-term arsenic exposure is linked to cancer and skin conditions. Inorganic arsenic (the form that matters most) is regulated in some foods, but tea doesn't have a specific limit in Australia, the EU, or the US.

What regulators say: The EU limits inorganic arsenic in infant cereals at 0.10 mg/kg. FSANZ has no tea-specific limit.

Our highest result: 0.068 mg/kg (Kyoto Uji Matcha). Well below the EU infant cereal limit, which is the strictest relevant benchmark.

Cadmium (Cd)

What it is: A soft metal that accumulates in soil from industrial activity and some fertilisers. Plants absorb it through their roots.

Why it matters: Long-term cadmium exposure can affect kidney function and bone density.

What regulators say: EU regulation 2023/915 sets cadmium limits for various foods. For leafy vegetables, the limit is 0.20 mg/kg. FSANZ has a general expected level for leafy vegetables at 0.10 mg/kg.

Our highest result: 0.017 mg/kg (Kyoto Uji Matcha). Around 8.5% of the EU leafy vegetable limit. Well inside safe territory.

Mercury (Hg)

What it is: A naturally occurring heavy metal, more commonly associated with seafood and industrial pollution than tea.

Why it matters: Mercury can affect nervous system development and function, particularly in unborn babies and young children.

What regulators say: Mercury isn't commonly found at measurable levels in tea. FSANZ regulates it strictly in seafood. No tea-specific limit exists.

Our result across all 8 teas: below 0.010 mg/kg (the lab's limit of quantification). This means mercury was not detectable in any Teafy tea at the levels the lab can measure.

The April 2026 results, tea by tea

‍

Here are the full numbers from Agrifood's April 2026 test. All values are in mg/kg, which is the same as parts per million (ppm).
‍

For context, 1 mg/kg means one gram of the metal would be present in 1,000 kg of tea. These are parts-per-million measurements, and as you'll see in the next section, every value sits well below the limits regulators consider safe.

Mercury was below the lab's limit of quantification (0.010 mg/kg) in all eight teas.
‍
‍
Teafy Ceremonial Grade Matcha (50g)

Arsenic: 0.021 mg/kg · Cadmium: 0.013 mg/kg · Lead: 0.067 mg/kg · Mercury: <0.010 mg/kg

Teafy Kyoto Uji Matcha Ceremonial Organic (50g)

Arsenic: 0.068 mg/kg · Cadmium: 0.017 mg/kg · Lead: 0.071 mg/kg · Mercury: <0.010 mg/kg

Teafy Superior Culinary Grade Matcha (50g)

Arsenic: 0.028 mg/kg · Cadmium: 0.015 mg/kg · Lead: 0.070 mg/kg · Mercury: <0.010 mg/kg

Teafy Hojicha Powder (50g)

Arsenic: 0.015 mg/kg · Cadmium: 0.011 mg/kg · Lead: 0.049 mg/kg · Mercury: <0.010 mg/kg

Teafy Hojicha Loose Leaf (100g)

Arsenic: 0.019 mg/kg · Cadmium: 0.011 mg/kg · Lead: 0.064 mg/kg · Mercury: <0.010 mg/kg

Teafy Asamushi Sencha (100g)

Arsenic: 0.012 mg/kg · Cadmium: <0.010 mg/kg · Lead: 0.051 mg/kg · Mercury: <0.010 mg/kg

Teafy Fukamushi Sencha (100g)

Arsenic: 0.027 mg/kg · Cadmium: 0.012 mg/kg · Lead: 0.093 mg/kg · Mercury: <0.010 mg/kg

Teafy Genmaicha (100g)

Arsenic: 0.065 mg/kg · Cadmium: 0.016 mg/kg · Lead: 0.028 mg/kg · Mercury: <0.010 mg/kg
‍

All values in mg/kg (parts per million). Tested 26 to 31 March 2026 by Agrifood Technology, report 485468, job J2603-2961. Report issued 7 April 2026.

How our numbers compare to what regulators consider safe

Here's the context most brands skip. There is no single legal limit for heavy metals in tea in Australia, the EU, or the US. This is unusual, and it's why comparing results to standards takes some explaining.

FSANZ (Food Standards Australia New Zealand) does not set a specific limit for heavy metals in tea leaves. Their closest reference is the 'generally expected level' for leafy vegetables, which sits at 0.3 mg/kg for lead and 0.1 mg/kg for cadmium.

The European Union sets limits for leafy vegetables under Regulation 2023/915. Lead: 0.30 mg/kg. Cadmium: 0.20 mg/kg.

California's Proposition 65 sets a daily safe harbour (MADL) of 0.5 micrograms of lead per day for an adult. This is the strictest consumer-facing benchmark globally.

All Teafy teas sit well below every one of these benchmarks. Our highest lead value (0.093 mg/kg in Fukamushi Sencha) works out to 0.186 micrograms at a 2g serve, around 37% of the California Prop 65 daily safe harbour in one full cup.

What this actually looks like in a cup of matcha

Lab numbers in mg/kg are hard to visualise. Let's translate.

A standard Teafy matcha serve is 2 grams of powder. Our Ceremonial Grade Matcha measured 0.067 mg/kg of lead. So one cup contains roughly 0.134 micrograms of lead.

For comparison, a glass of tap water in most Australian capital cities contains around 0 to 1 microgram of lead. A standard slice of wholegrain bread contains trace lead from wheat grown in soil. A banana contains trace lead, arsenic, and cadmium.

This is not a matcha-specific risk. It's a natural-food risk that exists across the entire food system. What matters is that measurable levels stay well below what can cause harm in normal consumption.

And for the record, our numbers are among the lowest reported by any Australian matcha brand publishing lab data.

What about radiation and pesticides?

Fair questions. Let's cover both.

Radiation testing. Following the 2011 Fukushima incident, Japan implemented strict radiation monitoring for all tea exports. Every batch of Japanese tea exported since 2012 is screened at border controls for radiocaesium (Cs-134 and Cs-137) before it can leave Japan. Our tea passes these controls by default. Our farm is in Shizuoka, far from the Fukushima region.

Pesticide testing. Our tea is JAS organic certified, which is Japan's organic standard. This prohibits the use of synthetic pesticides, herbicides, and fertilisers. We're adding independent pesticide panel testing to our April 2027 report. For now, our JAS certificate is available on request.

Common questions about Teafy matcha safety

‍

Q: Does Teafy matcha contain lead?

A: Every plant food contains trace lead, because lead exists in soil everywhere. Our Ceremonial Grade Matcha measured 0.067 mg/kg, which is 0.134 micrograms at a 2g serve. That's around 27% of the California Prop 65 daily safe harbour in one full cup.

Q: Who tests Teafy's matcha?

A: Agrifood Technology, a NATA accredited laboratory (accreditation 2726) in Werribee, Victoria, using the ICP-MS method for heavy metals. They're accredited to ISO/IEC 17025, the international gold standard for laboratory competence.

Q: How often does Teafy test?

A: Every new batch that arrives in Australia from Shizuoka. If anything comes back outside safe limits, we pull the batch and tell customers.

Q: Is Teafy matcha safe during pregnancy?

A: Matcha contains caffeine, around 64mg per 2g serve. FSANZ recommends staying under 200mg of caffeine per day during pregnancy, which is roughly two to three cups of matcha. The heavy metal values on this page are the same regardless of pregnancy status. Speak to your GP or midwife about your own limit.

Q: Why don't you say your matcha is lead free?

A: Because that would not be honest. Lead exists in soil everywhere on earth, so every plant food picks up trace amounts. What matters is the amount, measured by an accredited lab, and whether those amounts sit well below safe limits. Ours do.

Q: What's the difference between mg/kg and ppm?

A: They're the same. 1 mg/kg equals 1 part per million (ppm). Some labs use one, some use the other. Agrifood reports in mg/kg.

Q: Can I see the full PDF report?

A: Yes, it's available at the top of this page. Every number on this page traces back to Agrifood report number 485468, job J2603-2961, issued 7 April 2026.

Q: What happens if a future batch fails?

A: We pull the batch from sale, contact customers who received it, refund or replace, and publish the results transparently. We've committed to this in writing on this page.

Every number on this page traces back to one document. Here it is.