FSSAI buckled under pressure on tea!

Even as the outcome of Government-ordered toxicological tests for iron filings in tea is awaited, the country’s top food watchdog has gone ahead allowing the maximum limit of 150 mg iron particles in a packet of one kg tea. “Intense pressure” from the tea industry is said to have worked.
Interestingly, the Food Regulations 2011 too do not permit any extraneous materials including iron fillings and pesticides in the tea. However, justifying the move to limit the levels, CEO of the Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI) SN Mohanty said that it was an interim step pending the finalisation of the assessment report being prepared by the National Institution of Nutrition (NIN) to quantify the total iron content that can be allowed in the tea.
The Tea Board, which represented to the FSSAI recently, had argued that even the best of technologies cannot remove these iron filings which get mixed up with the tea because of the wear and tear of machinery. The tea lobby also claimed that several countries even allow such iron filing-contained tea giving prescribed limits. The logic behind is that tea is not consumed raw but after brewing. The brewed tea does not contain filings or in extreme limitation which is completely safe.
Agreeing with the industry’s views, Mohanty termed the “zero permissible limit” defined in the FSSAI regulation as a technical error and that it was a gaping loophole that needs to be plugged. Moreover, the limit is at its lowest currently when compared a few years back when it was 250mg/kg, he further said and maintained the 150mg/kg was a permissible limit being followed by the UK as well. But, it is high as 500mg/kg in Sri Lanka, he added.
The FSSAI advisory issued on November 23, says: “It is concluded that pending completion of the detailed study on the presence of iron fillings in tea, which the National Institute of Nutrition is doing and the assessment by the Food Authority’s specific panel, the maximum limit of iron particles in tea may be adhered to 150 mg/kg.” The FSSAI has also asked its enforcement departments to not to launch the prosecution against the tea producer in case their items are found to contain the specified limit of iron particles.
According to the food regulations, pesticide residue, insecticides, common heavy metals, micro-biological and foreign matters counts should not be in excess of such tolerance limit and quantity stipulated by it. There have been cases when the tea manufacturers were found to be adding the iron fillings to increasing the weight of the product while ignoring its harmful health impacts.