FSSAI's draft 2026 amendment sets 20 ppm for Acetamiprid and 50 ppm for Imidacloprid in tea, with the Acetamiprid cap stricter than US and Japan limits.
FSSAI has proposed maximum residue limits (MRLs) of 20 mg/kg (20 ppm) for Acetamiprid and 50 mg/kg (50 ppm) for Imidacloprid in tea, under the draft Food Safety and Standards (Contaminants, Toxins and Residues) Amendment Regulations, 2026, notified on 17 October 2026.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), operating under the Union Health Ministry, published the draft amendment to set legally defined pesticide thresholds for one of India's most widely consumed beverages. The move affects tea growers, processors, food businesses, testing laboratories, and enforcement authorities across Assam, Darjeeling, Nilgiris, and every other tea-producing region in the country. Until now, the absence of specific MRLs for these two compounds left a regulatory gap that complicated compliance and enforcement alike.
What changed, and why it matters
Acetamiprid and Imidacloprid are both neonicotinoid insecticides, a class of systemic pesticides that are absorbed into plant tissue and used widely to control sucking pests on tea crops. Because they bind to plant cells rather than sitting on the surface, washing does not remove them the way it might with older contact pesticides. Residue levels in the final dried leaf, and therefore in brewed tea, depend almost entirely on how much was applied and how far in advance of harvest.
Before this draft amendment, India lacked a specific statutory MRL for either compound in tea. Enforcement agencies had to fall back on a default limit or rely on Codex Alimentarius references, which created inconsistency in testing outcomes and made it difficult for exporters to demonstrate compliance to trading partners.
The proposed 20 ppm cap for Acetamiprid is lower than Japan's 30 ppm and the United States' 50 ppm, according to the Health Ministry's statement. That comparison matters because Japan is one of India's most demanding export markets for tea and has historically rejected Indian shipments over pesticide non-compliance. A domestic limit stricter than Japan's, if it holds through the finalisation process, would push Indian producers toward practices that should satisfy Japanese import checks.
For Imidacloprid, FSSAI says the proposed 50 ppm limit was formulated with reference to international Codex standards. The Codex Alimentarius Commission, the joint FAO/WHO food standards body, sets MRLs that many countries use as a baseline. FSSAI has not published the specific Codex figure it referenced in the draft text available so far, so a direct numerical comparison is not yet possible.
This draft also sits within a longer regulatory arc. The Food Safety and Standards (Contaminants, Toxins and Residues) Amendment Regulations, 2024 already revised MRLs across several food categories based on updated scientific data. Before that, FSSAI delisted 13 pesticides it classified as having higher toxicity. The 2026 tea-specific proposal continues that pattern of incremental, compound-by-compound tightening rather than a sweeping overhaul.
India's average pesticide application rate is under 0.5 kg per hectare, well below the global average of 2.38 kg per hectare, according to the Health Ministry. That figure is often cited to argue that Indian agriculture is relatively low-input. What it does not tell you is whether specific high-value crops like tea are treated at rates closer to or above the global average, since national averages smooth out crop-level variation considerably.
What buyers and home brewers should do
The draft regulations are open for public comment before finalisation. FSSAI hasn't released the full finalisation schedule yet, so the 20 ppm and 50 ppm figures are not yet legally binding. That said, the direction is clear enough to act on now.
If you buy loose-leaf or packaged tea and want to reduce neonicotinoid exposure, the most direct route is organic-certified tea. India's organic certification under the National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP) prohibits synthetic pesticide use, including neonicotinoids. Look for the India Organic logo or third-party certifications such as USDA Organic or EU Organic on imported and re-exported teas. Brands carrying these marks are required to undergo annual residue testing as part of certification audits.
For consumers who prefer conventional tea, single-origin teas from estates that publish third-party lab test results are a better bet than blended teas, where traceability across multiple gardens is harder to verify. A few Indian tea brands now share batch-level test certificates on their websites or on request. If a brand cannot tell you which lab tested its product and what the results were, that is worth noting.
Brewing temperature and steep time have a marginal effect on neonicotinoid levels in the cup. A 2020 study published in Food Chemistry found that hot water extraction does transfer a portion of water-soluble neonicotinoids from dry leaf to brew, though the transfer rate varies by compound and brewing conditions. Discarding the first steep (a practice common in gongfu-style brewing) reduces the concentration in subsequent cups, but does not eliminate residues if the dry leaf contains them at high levels.
For tea businesses sourcing from gardens or brokers, the proposed MRLs give a concrete compliance target to build into supplier contracts now, before the regulations are finalised. Testing against the 20 ppm Acetamiprid and 50 ppm Imidacloprid thresholds using accredited NABL laboratories will put you ahead of enforcement rather than scrambling after gazette notification.
FSSAI's draft is a step toward the kind of specific, science-based limits that make food safety monitoring workable. Whether the final notified limits match the draft figures, or shift during the comment and review process, will determine how much practical change reaches the cup.