I caught this story on my local NBC affiliate today.  The issue is
with certain types of star anise, one of which is toxic.  The FDA
believes the toxic and the edible kinds were mixed up in some cases.

Here is the ap wire story:

FDA Says Herbal Tea Linked to Seizures
http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/T/TEA_WARNING?SITE=KGW&TEMPLATE=HEALTHHEADS.html


WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Food and Drug Administration is warning
consumers not to drink teas brewed from the herb star anise, as it
investigates reports of people, including 15 infants, suffering
seizures after ingesting them.

There are two types of star anise. Chinese star anise, a popular
spice, is known to be safe to consume. Japanese star anise, a
well-known poison, is supposed to be used for decorative purposes
only.

Star anise tea sometimes is used as a folk remedy for infants with
colic, but the FDA said there's no scientific evidence that it treats
any ailment. Consumers shouldn't brew it, the FDA said, especially
until the seizure question is cleared up.

The FDA said that in dried and ground form, the Chinese and Japanese
star anise leaves used to brew tea look identical. The agency is
investigating whether tea importers or consumers got them mixed up.

A Miami doctor alerted the FDA to the problem after noticing a spate
of infants suffering seizures after being given the folk remedy. The
FDA then contacted poison control centers and ultimately counted
about 40 reports of seizures among tea drinkers, both children and
adults, in recent years.

Similar outbreaks occurred in Europe several years ago, which set up
controls to make sure only safe Chinese star anise was imported for
food, said the FDA's Dr. David Acheson. The agency is about to
monitor imports to see if the toxic Japanese form is coming into this
country inappropriately labeled as a food.

The FDA's warning is only for star anise tea, not the herb when used
as a spice.

Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Laura Mundt, ICCE

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