Dhaka, Sept. 19 -- A new study has raised a red flag over the safety of one of Bangladesh's most consumed beverages-tea. The Environment and Social Development Organization (ESDO) revealed on Thursday that dangerously high levels of heavy metals have been detected in tea bags widely available in the country's markets, posing a serious public health threat.

The findings were published in ESDO's latest report, "Brewing Toxicity: Uncovering Heavy Metal Risks in Tea Bags and Tea Leaves," unveiled at the organisation's Dhaka headquarters. Laboratory tests on 13 samples-12 tea bag varieties and one loose-leaf product-showed contamination that in some cases was hundreds of times above globally accepted safe limits.

According to the report, the...