*3.4. Risk Assessment for the (Herbal) Teas Based on Shorter-Than-Lifetime Consumption*

Providing that the number of weeks a year selected for a shorter-than-lifetime exposure has an influence on the MOE values and corresponding conclusion, the number of weeks during a 75-year lifetime that would cause an MOE of 10,000 was calculated in the current study. As shown in Figure 2, consumption of tephroseris tea for more than 11.2 weeks during a lifetime, which is corresponding to 0.1 weeks/year during 75 years, would already raise a concern, no matter whether the REP factors were applied or not. Having borage tea for up to 19.3 weeks during a lifetime (0.3 weeks/year) would be of little concern, whereas the number was increased by REP correction to 2245.6 weeks during a lifetime (29.9 weeks/year). Use of lungwort and lemon balm containing the PA concentrations as measured in this study would result in an acceptable exposure for 1828.0 and 3828.0 weeks during a life time, respectively (equivalent to 24.4 and 51.0 weeks/year, respectively). As the REP factors were applied, the maximal number of weeks for lemon balm tea was 3828.0 weeks, while use of lungwort would raise no concern for the whole lifespan. For the other types of teas, the number of weeks resulting in an MOE of 10,000 exceeded 3900 weeks, suggesting that use of these teas may not pose a health risk.

**Figure 2.** The maximal number of weeks during a 75-year lifetime that a (herbal) tea investigated in this study could be consumed to result in an MOE of 10,000, given that daily intake is one cup of tea. Black bars represent the number of weeks obtained based on the total PA levels corrected by the REP factors, while grey bars represent the values without REP correction. The red dashed line represents a 75-year lifetime (equivalent to 3900 weeks). n.a. indicates that the data are not applicable.
