Why are people asking about steroids in Tapee Tea?

Tapee Tea is a Thai herbal drink often searched for by people interested in pain relief. The steroid question comes from an FDA warning published on 31 August 2023. The agency tested a product sold under that name and found two medicines missing from its ingredient label.

One was dexamethasone, a steroid used to treat inflammation. The other was piroxicam, an anti-inflammatory painkiller. Piroxicam is not a steroid. Both can cause side effects and interact with other medicines, which makes their undeclared presence important for someone expecting a herbal drink.

The FDA advised people not to buy or use the product named in its notice. The Sirilife reports shown below concern different samples, submitted to different laboratories at later dates. They are relevant to the Sirilife product, but they do not overturn the FDA result or explain what the FDA tested.

What did the 2023 Sirilife test find?

The 2023 Sirilife report records that dexamethasone and prednisolone, both steroids, were not detected in the submitted sample using the laboratory’s test method.

The laboratory was Regional Medical Sciences Center 7 in Khon Kaen, Thailand. The report names the product as Thephi Herbal Drink Sirilife Brand and the submitting company as Thai Rice Herb Co., Ltd. Thephi is the product name you will see on the documents for Sirilife Tapee Tea.

The sample reached the laboratory on 4 August 2023 and was analysed on 24 August. The final report is dated 6 September 2023 and numbered R2718. The sample number, 66072535001, is the laboratory’s reference for the tea it tested.

R2718 replaced an earlier version of the report, as the accompanying letter confirms. You can open both documents below. The result applies to the sample sent to the laboratory; it cannot tell us what was in every pack made before or after it.

What did the 2025 Sirilife test find?

The available Eurofins report page records that dexamethasone was not detected in another Sirilife sample. It is dated 26 May 2025. Unlike the 2023 document, the page shown here does not give a result for prednisolone.

The report number is AR-25-D7-006472-01 and the sample number is 965-2025-00006140. These details let you identify this test separately from the earlier one. The product is again named Thephi Herbal Drink Sirilife Brand, with testing carried out between 19 and 26 May 2025.

The sample was described as made on 16 March 2025 with a best-before date of 15 March 2027. The report notes that these dates were supplied by the customer who submitted it. They identify the tested sample, but they do not show which batches are now held by each retailer.

We only have the first page of this two-page report. That page gives a result for dexamethasone, but it does not show a test for piroxicam. So it cannot answer whether piroxicam, the other medicine named by the FDA, was present in the sample.

What does “not detected” mean?

“Not detected” means the amount, if any, was below the laboratory method’s detection limit. It is a reassuring result for the named substance in that particular sample. It does not describe other batches or substances the laboratory did not test.

The Eurofins page gives a dexamethasone detection limit of 0.03 micrograms per kilogram. This is the lowest concentration the method was designed to identify reliably in that sample.

The difference between the reports is straightforward. The 2023 laboratory checked its sample for dexamethasone and prednisolone. The available page from 2025 reports a result for dexamethasone. Neither displayed document gives a result for piroxicam, the second medicine in the FDA warning.

Do these results cover the pack I buy?

Only if the retail pack can be linked to the production batch represented by the sample. A laboratory result belongs to the material it received; the report numbers and dates help identify that material.

The Sirilife reports have different dates and sample numbers. Nothing in the documents links either Sirilife sample to the product tested by the FDA. They also do not show that every pack currently sold by Tranquil Siam came from one of the tested batches.

We make the supplied copies available for you to inspect. We have not independently authenticated them with the laboratories that issued them. If you need information about a particular order, contact [email protected] with your order number and a photograph of the pack’s batch details.

What is the Thai food registration number?

Sirilife’s product documents list Thai food serial number 40-2-02861-6-0027. The Thai FDA product record helps you match the registered product to the name shown on a packet or online listing.

Food registration and laboratory testing answer different questions. Registration identifies the food product. A laboratory report tells you what was found in one submitted sample. A registration number is not proof that a batch has been tested for steroids.

What should I do with this information?

The FDA found dexamethasone and piroxicam in the product it tested. The Sirilife reports shown here recorded no detection of certain steroids in separate samples. These findings concern different samples and answer different parts of the question.

If you have used a product covered by the warning, seek medical advice about stopping safely, particularly after regular use. Our Tapee Tea safety guide explains the practical steps. For the drink’s declared ingredients, see the full Sirilife ingredient list.