Ooty: Cup to lip, the sip of tea is at risk

OOTY: Nilgiri tea is in trouble. In December last, an unlicensed tea factory was found and sealed near Gudalur, in March, a consignment of adulterants in a truck proceeding to Kotagiri was seized by officials at the checkpost in Kunjapannai near Kotagiri, and in the last week of May, a consignment of adulterants taken in a truck was also seized at Kunjapannai.

Last Wednesday, Tea Board officials raided a private tea factory in Sholur limits near here and sealed the factory as the factory was found be indulging in adulteration in tea. In a statement issued, Mr C.Paulrasu, executive director of the Tea Board zonal office at Coonoor, said that upon a tip-off, a Tea Board team raided a private tea factory in Sholur village limits on June 12 evening.

During the raid it was found that the factory management was adding artificial colorant and sugar mix to the made tea.  Nearly eight tonnes of such tea was found in the factory that was seized. The proprietor of the factory is absconding. This was informed to FSSAI officials who also held an investigation.

“Upon further investigation, officials found that 32 tonnes of colorant added tea produced in the factory was stored in a warehouse in Coonoor.  It was also found that this factory was on a contract with another private tea factory in the Highfield area in Coonoor to sell the adulterated tea in the name of the private factory in Coonoor. Officials seized this tea also and sent the samples for laboratory analysis. Efforts are being made to initiate criminal procedures against those who indulged in tea adulteration,” Mr Paulrasu noted.

 Small tea growers (STG), who constitute the bulk of the farming community in the Nilgiris, expressed their apprehension that adulteration will ruin the reputation of Nilgiri tea. Thumboor I.Bhojan, president of the Hill District Small Growers Welfare Association said that tea cultivation is the livelihood of nearly 60,000 families of STGs in the Nilgiris. The tea industry is in a crisis due to fluctuations in prices in the global market.

Over a decade, the STGs are finding it hard to get a remunerative price for green tea leaf which they produce and sell to private tea factories.  If tea factories indulge in adulteration, it will destroy the quality and reputation of Nilgiri tea and bring prices down in auctions. The Tea Board needs to evolve new mechanisms to bust the adulteration racket to check adulteration,” Mr  Bhojan pleaded.