Artificial Colours Allegedly Present In Packaged Tea: Here's How To Check Adulteration
India is a nation of tea lovers who take their tea very seriously. So recently, when a piece of scary news hit the headlines about artificial colours being detected in our tea, many expressed panic.?
Most packaged tea people consume daily is allegedly laced with exhausted leaves or artificial colours.
But on Tuesday, tea planters and manufacturers associations denied this allegation, as claimed by an industry's apex body.?
A major?reason for the adulteration of tea is double the number of brews for the same amount of tea leaves.
FSSAI (Food Safety and Standard Authority of India) has also listed out ways for people to find out if their tea is adulterated.?
Possible carcinogenic substances used?
A Federation of All India Tea Traders' Associations (FAITTA) statement alleged the inclusion of artificial colours in packaged tea products.?
Earlier in 2019, FSSAI had checked samples from an Assam tea factory and found a yellow colouring substance, tartrazine, which has been shown to have carcinogenic properties.?
Tea Association of India (TAI) president Ajay Jalan said that the allegation, though serious in nature and needs to be addressed, should not overshadow the tireless efforts of ethical producers committed to delivering high-quality and authentic tea products.?
"As part of the stringent evaluation process, tea samples from producers are thoroughly assessed by buyers before any purchasing decisions are made. If any producers are engaged in the practice of mixing artificial colours, this would be promptly detected, and appropriate measures would be taken by the buyers," Jalan added.?
Indicating that FAITTA's statement could have been 'misconstrued', he said, "They were possibly suggesting that there are unscrupulous traders or retail sellers who might resort to such practices. They were possibly not suggesting that these unethical practices represent the broader tea-producing community."?
How to know if your tea is artificially coloured??
Identifying the addition of filers and colours in packaged tea is difficult.?
FSSAI has laid down tips to help identify the addition of colours and mixed leaves in tea.?
Following are the steps listed:?
- To begin with, take a filter paper?
- Spread the tea leaves on the paper filter and add a few drops of water.?
- Remove the tea leaves from the paper and wash it under running water.If the paper has brown and dark-shaded stains, then tea is adulterated.?
- If there are light or no stains, the tea leaves are pure, and no colours or additives are present.?
Another way to check the purity of tea is to add a tablespoon of tea leaves to a glass of cold water or water at room temperature. If the tea is pure, the water's colour will not change. If the tea leaves have some colourant added to it, the colour will immediately switch to red.? ??
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