Nilgiris: Alarmed by increasing incidents of tea adulteration in cities and concerned about the quality of tea reaching consumers, the Tea Board of India (TBI) has launched a nationwide campaign against adulteration, stepped up enforcement action against erring units and launched initiatives to promote quality tea and create consumer awareness.

The campaign comes amid reports that adulteration networks were shifting to cities, where such tea is sold through low-end outlets and vendors. Such practices not only pose potential health risks but can also damage the image of tea as a wholesome beverage.

The Tea Board is using various media platforms, organising workshops and awareness programmes in schools and colleges, apart from conducting raids and collecting samples from manufacturing units, blending units, open markets and retail outlets.

The campaign aims to educate consumers on tea quality and distinguishing genuine tea from adulterated products. A simple test for artificial colouring is to put a small quantity of tea in cold water. If colouring agents are present, a reddish colour may spread through the water.

Recent cases in Hyderabad highlight the threat. In April, police raided 15 locations, arrested 10 people and seized 3,000 kg of adulterated tea powder, 1,500 kg of expired tea, synthetic colours and 100 kg of jaggery. In February, one person was arrested for mixing low-grade tea with cocopeat, jaggery water, Sunset Yellow and Tartrazine.

Battle against adulteration
The Board takes action against units found violating prescribed standards, including suspension of manufacturing licences, while cases involving food-safety violations are referred to the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) for appropriate action.

“We regularly sample from various units, open markets as well as retail outlets to check compliance with FSSAI parameters, including the addition of ingredients for colouring,” said Tea Board of India South Zone Executive Director Bharani Kumar.

“Apart from action on the part of the Tea Board, if colour adulteration is detected in a sample after receipt of the test report, the matter is taken up and informed to the concerned FSSAI authorities for initiation of necessary action in accordance with the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA) as well as the Food Safety and Standards Regulations (FSSR),” he added.

According to Kumar, during 2024–25, 34.28% of the 1,307 samples collected in the Southern Zone failed the prescribed tests, while in 2025–26, 26.19% of the 1,470 samples collected failed.

Periodic inspections are being conducted at tea factories across the Southern Zone, including estate factories, to monitor compliance with quality and hygiene standards prescribed by the Tea Board, he said.

During 2025–26, 8,159 kg of failed tea was denatured. In addition, 89,011 kg of tea waste was denatured to prevent it from being coloured and diverted back into the market. In 2026, two manufacturing licences were suspended, while the licence of an instant tea factory was cancelled, according to the Tea Board.

Sawdust, rice powder, cocopeat and colouring agents
According to the Tea Board of India’s annual report, 4,534 tea samples were tested during 2024–25, of which 2,714 were found to be non-compliant with FSSAI parameters. About 31,860 kg of tea was destroyed following enforcement action.

Tea Board records also show that during the three years from 2022–23 to 2024–25, 5,206 samples were collected, of which 3,053 failed the prescribed tests, resulting in the destruction of 1,33,153 kg of low-grade tea dust.

Adulteration shifts to urban blending units
While stringent enforcement has significantly reduced adulteration at the manufacturing level, industry representatives say the nature of the problem has changed, with adulteration increasingly shifting to blending units operating in cities.

Such units prepare non-branded tea and supply it directly to shops, hotels and small roadside tea stalls. The shift has made consumer awareness increasingly important.

The Tea Board’s campaign says consumers can conduct a simple test to distinguish genuine tea from coloured tea. When tea is placed in cold water, the colour of genuine tea should not spread immediately, whereas colouring agents used in adulterated tea can leach into the water without boiling.

The Board advises consumers to purchase made tea from authorised outlets or opt for properly packaged and branded products.

Production-level adulteration reduced in Nilgiris
According to Shaji Chelivayal, State President of the Federation of Small Tea Growers’ Associations (FESTA), adulteration at the production level has been reduced to almost nil in the Nilgiris because of the strict measures adopted by the Tea Board.

However, the problem shifted to agencies involved in collecting tea waste and low-quality or expired tea, which could subsequently be re-marketed after being mixed with colouring agents and other chemicals. “Both the Tea Board and FSSAI need more teeth,” Shaji Chelivayal said, pointing out that manpower shortage and inadequate infrastructure were affecting the enforcement capabilities of both agencies.

He said there had also been instances of factories marketing tea by mixing rice powder and colouring agents. “Such factories were miraculous entities that produced tea even without purchasing green tea leaves,” he said.

The introduction of the e-auction system for tea waste by the Tea Board has also helped address the diversion of tea waste into unauthorised channels, officials and industry representatives said.

The Tea Board also plans to popularise testing kits in the future and ensure the availability of accredited laboratories to test the quality and standards of tea, officials said.

For the Tea Board, however, enforcement alone may not be enough. An informed consumer base is equally important. The message of the campaign is simple: Know your tea before you sip it.