Representative image of tea plantation.
Credit: iStock Photo
Kolkata: A special team of Tea Board officials inspected several factories in North Bengal to determine the quality of leaves manufactured by them.
An official of the Tea Board told PTI that several samples have been collected from these factories and their quality will be determined.
"The operation was conducted at various factories in North Bengal over the last several days on a large scale. Tea Board has collected samples from these factories and future course of action will be determined as per provisions of the Tea Marketing Control Order (TMCO)," the official said.
President of the Confederation of Indian Small Tea Growers Association (CISTA) Bijoy Gopal Chakraborty said "We welcome the action taken by Tea Board in inspecting several factories of North Bengal. We demand that exemplary action be taken against these entities so that it becomes a deterrent in future".
Chakraborty said CISTA had come to learn that some factories are procuring tea waste from Assam and mixing it with green leaves produced at the factories.
"We have informed the Tea Board of these malpractices by these factories. As per rules, two per cent of the total production of any factory should be declared as tea waste", he said.
This waste should be used either for manufacturing instant tea or for producing organic manure, he said.
"Even these factories were mixing artificial colours to the waste and mixing with green leaves", he said.
By mixing tea waste with green leaves, the profit margins become higher, adding that nearly 20 million kilogrammes of these teas are being sold every year. "So this has become a lucrative business proposition for these factories", he said.
Tea Board had time and now emphasised the shared responsibility of all stakeholders towards ensuring the safety of tea. "Tea shall be free from any extraneous matter, added colouring material and harmful substances", the official said.