Food safety officers raid a unit that was allegedly packing adulterated tea at Udayampalayam near Ganapathy in Coimbatore on Wednesday. (right) An adulterant that was being mixed with dust tea.
Food safety officials seized over 3,000 kg of adulterated tea powder during a raid in a storage godown at Udayampalayam near here on Wednesday. Around 1,500 kg of adulterants were also seized by the officials who sealed the godown.
A team lead by Tamil Nadu Food Safety and Drug Administration Department (Food Safety Wing) Designated Officer R. Kathiravan, conducted the raid, which was part of a campaign against adulterated food and tobacco products.
According to Dr. Kathiravan, the operation involved purchase of tea powder through auctions at The Nilgiris, Valparai and Kerala after which it was mixed with adulterants. They were later packed with stickers of some local brands and supplied to shops in Coimbatore, Tiruchi, Rajapalayam and Virudhunagar.
Samples of the tea powder have been sent for testing to the Government Food Safety Laboratory. Legal action might be initiated based on the results.
In similar raids conducted in bakeries and road-side shops across the district on Tuesday, 183 kg of banned tobacco products and 50 kg of adulterated tea powder were seized.
The food safety officers who took part in the raided include V. Raveendran, R. Rajendran, K. Sakthivel and M. Madhan Mohan.
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