GUWAHATI: The Tea Board India has instructed all tea producers, including estates and small tea growers, throughout the country to avoid using chemical pesticides in their tea plantations that do not have a label claim for tea.
This directive was issued by Rajnigandha Seal Naskar, the Controller of Licensing of the Tea Board India, following the recent deliberations of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).
The FSSAI held a meeting under the chairmanship of the Additional Secretary (Plantation), Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India, and the CEO of FSSAI, to discuss various issues related to the quality of tea.
During the meeting, the FSSAI highlighted the presence of various banned chemical pesticides in tea that are detrimental to the health of consumers.
The Tea Board India, therefore, instructed all tea producers in the country not to use any chemical pesticide in their tea plantations that do not have a label claim for tea. Additionally, the FSSAI recently circulated a list of 20 banned insecticides in this context.
The Tea Board India warned that the presence of any banned insecticides or any other chemical without a label claim for tea would be taken seriously.
The Board also requested tea producer associations and small tea grower associations to make their members aware of these guidelines. On November 29, 2020, the FSSAI directed all notified laboratories to test for banned pesticides in tea.
“FSSAI, after thorough deliberations with relevant stakeholders hereby, directs all the laboratories notified under…Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, to test the 20 banned pesticides…in addition to all the pesticides specified for tea as per FSS (Contaminants, Toxins and Residues) Regulations, 2011,” an official communique stated.
Prabhat Bezbarua, who is a former Chairman of Tea Board India, told this newspaper the pesticide/chemical in question has remained banned for the past few years and the Tea Board asked the tea estates and small tea growers to not use them.
“There are certain softer pesticides/chemicals but as their prices are slightly higher, people are using those already banned,” Bezbarua said.
He felt that an immediate impact would be that production would fall and a large amount of tea would be destroyed.
“Production will fall because the softer pesticide/chemical cannot kill the pests as effectively as those banned. Secondly, people cannot easily get away from bad habits. So, I feel some will still use the banned chemical, get caught and that way, tea will be destroyed,” Bezbarua said.
Further, he said there is no guarantee that the quality of tea would now improve. Quality depends on plucking, he said.
“The FSSAI directive on testing earlier was to check if the residue limit in the allowed chemical/pesticide is more than permissible. The same in the case of banned chemical was not tested,” he added.
BANNED PESTICIDE/ CHEMICALS
Aldicarb-Aldrin, Dieldrin, Chlordane, Heptachlor, Lindane, Endosulfan, Carbofuran, Methomyl, Phosphamidon, Captafol, Ferbam, Formothion, Simazine, Diazinon, DDT, Fenitrothion, Fenthion, Methyl Parathion, Ethyl Parathion and Monocrotophos
FSSAI issued a direction on November 29 to all notified labs to test banned pesticides in tea.
After Tea Board India’s direction, tea production is likely to fall
Tea production in India this year was 1,163.06 million kgs against 1,166.34 million kgs last year Amount of tea exported this year was 157.92 million kgs compared to 166.11 million kgs last year
