The packaging of tea bags has undergone quite a few changes in recent years. They no longer come stapled or glued. Glue was never used in their packaging, but stapler pins, yes. But in 2019, India banned the use of staples in tea bags, citing health hazards and risks. After that, the usual system became heat sealing, but there should be a connecting thread attached to the top to help consumers dunk their tea bags in hot water/milk. Let’s know more about this.
Tea Bags Aren't Stapled or Glued: Here's Why
Nowadays, tea bags, even if they are paper ones, use heat sealing, frequently involving plastic fibers or glues. The paper tea bags can contain plastic components such as polypropylene (PP) for sealing or plastic fibers within the paper. Meanwhile, some are made of nylon or plastic mesh (for better tea infusion).
As mentioned above, stapler pins are no longer used after the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) ban because of safety concerns. Some companies are also exploring alternatives such as biodegradable PLA (polylactic acid) or employing loose leaf tea with infusers.
The one packaging material that hardly got used by the tea industry is glue. Even if they are food-safe, glue can get dissolved and leach into the hot tea, effectively impacting its taste and introducing unwarranted chemicals to your body. Also, if it gets dissolved or weakened, it may cause the tag/string to detach, resulting in an unusable tea bag.
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Meanwhile, earlier, when staples were used, it was a reliable and cost-effective practise, helping firms in large-scale production. They held the edges together and withstood the heat and moisture connected to brewing tea. Also, staples were compatible with the thin, fibrous materials used in tea bags.
However, in recent years, the frequency of its usage has been reduced to a lot of extent with many companies switching to more durable materials like abaca, which are stitched together with organic cotton thread.
While the use of staples in tea bags might have been a practical choice driven by efficient manufacturing, reliable functionality when you use it, and somewhat adherence to industry standards, the safety considerations about food contact was one of the main reasons for its ban. However, in a few areas, the practice is still ongoing. But mostly, tea bags come heat-sealed nowadays.
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