Mixing sugar into tea: Explanations called from 53 factories

Chairman of the Sri Lanka Tea Board Rohan Pethiyagoda said yesterday that explanations have been called from 53 tea factory owners who were suspected of mixing sugar and glucose with tea during the threshing process.

They have been given a weeks deadline to send in their reasons for this misdemeanour, which ends on Tuesday (20), he said.

Pethiyagoda further said that they had raided 80 tea factories in Ratnapura, Galle, Matara and 53 factories of them which were found to be engaging in this illegal practice. If they are found guilty of mixing sugar or glucose with tea action will be taken to cancel their license, he explained.

He said that there is a thought process among tea factory owners that by adding sugar with tea during the threshing process the tea turns black thereby allowing them to sell the tea at a higher price to the market.

Pethiyagoda said that while the thought process behind this is right the tea that is produced as a result gathers mould and what is even more disturbing it also produces a cancerous carcinogen which produces aflatoxin. he warned that such illegal practises could do great damage to the image of “Ceylon Tea” which has built a name for itself in the world market.

Pethiyagoda said that they had found 14 tea factories had been found guilty of engaging in this illegal practise last year and their licenses had been suspended for three months. (Ranjan Kasthuri)