India’s
National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) is conducting toxicology studies
to determine to what extent iron filings present in tea powder are
harmful to human health, according to an industry body.
The
country’s food safety and standards regulator, after consultations with
the Health Ministry and the Tea Board, has capped the maximum limit for
iron particles in tea powder at 150mg per kilogram, for now.
Worldover, permissible levels for iron filings in tea ranges between 120mg/kg and 500mg/kg, a recent Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) media release stated.
The NIN report, expected a year from now, will help the industry in better determining the permissible level of iron filings in tea powder, said Mohan Kumar, director, Tea Research Institute, The United Planters’ Association of Southern India (UPASI).
CTC tea powder is bound to have some iron filings in it because of the “nature of the manufacturing process,” Kumar said.
“Tea leaves are withered in a sieve fitted with a mesh and leaves are cut using rollers. Facotries use magnets to remove iron filings from tea powder, but some iron particles will remain,” Kumar said.
The Tea Board has sanctioned around Rs.25 lakh to the NIN for the toxicology studies, Kumar said.
Tea makers operating within the ‘prescribed limit’ of 150 mg of iron filings per kilogram of tea cannot be prosecuted till November 23, 2013, the FSSAI media release stated.
The National Institute of Nutrition is located in Hyderabad. India is the second largest producer of tea, after China.
Worldover, permissible levels for iron filings in tea ranges between 120mg/kg and 500mg/kg, a recent Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) media release stated.
The NIN report, expected a year from now, will help the industry in better determining the permissible level of iron filings in tea powder, said Mohan Kumar, director, Tea Research Institute, The United Planters’ Association of Southern India (UPASI).
CTC tea powder is bound to have some iron filings in it because of the “nature of the manufacturing process,” Kumar said.
“Tea leaves are withered in a sieve fitted with a mesh and leaves are cut using rollers. Facotries use magnets to remove iron filings from tea powder, but some iron particles will remain,” Kumar said.
The Tea Board has sanctioned around Rs.25 lakh to the NIN for the toxicology studies, Kumar said.
Tea makers operating within the ‘prescribed limit’ of 150 mg of iron filings per kilogram of tea cannot be prosecuted till November 23, 2013, the FSSAI media release stated.
The National Institute of Nutrition is located in Hyderabad. India is the second largest producer of tea, after China.
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