Those Adding Colour To Leaf Will Be Punished: Tea Board of India

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: With an aim to ensure quality production, the Tea Board of India has decided to initiate legal actions against those adding colours to leaf.

The Tea Board has made it clear that there is no provision for use of colour in tea. On Friday, the board had advised all stakeholders to follow the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) guidelines for not using any colour in tea, which leads to food safety, health, trade and quality problems.

FSSAI 2011 regulation 2.10.1 (1) on tea says, “The product shall be free from extraneous matter, added colouring matter and harmful substances.”

The development has come after the Tea Board tested samples of a bought leaf factory in Assam which had used a yellow colouring substance. The board will soon take action to cancel its licence.

The colouring agent is tartrazine, a synthetic lemon yellow azo dye primarily used in food colouring. It is sometimes used to give good colour to tea.

Sources in the Tea Board said colour adulteration is strictly prohibited from the consumer’s health point of view. Colouring of tea has gradually become a serious concern. Tea (finished product/made tea) occasionally contains extraneous colouring materials which are not allowed. It is called adulterant tea, the source said.

“There are occasional reports that sub-standard tea leaves were coloured with Bismarck brown, potassium blue, turmeric, indigo, plumbago and others to impart some favourite colour or glossiness to the product. Tea leaves which were damaged during manufacturing process or are of inferior quality are being treated with various colouring agents to improve their appearance and price. Colouring materials which are added to tea do not add any value to the product,” the Tea Board said in a notice issued on Friday.

Sources said a simple screening test could help detect colour in tea. There are also some chemical methods to identify the colour in tea.

“Adulteration can be detected by rubbing a small quantity of tea between thumb and forefinger. Artificially coloured tea results in a bright stain when rubbed,” the source said.

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