Tea adulteration is a very common and recurring issue. Indian Officials, such as the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), keep seizing teas adulterated with artificial colorants and dyes. Tea dust and low-quality teas are adulterated by adding coal tar dyes, sunset yellow, tartrazine and other artificial colorants, some of them rendering the teas unfit for human consumption and endangering consumer health.

Resources

1. Staff Reporter Coimbatore (August 29, 2019). “FSSAI seizes 1.5 tonnes of adulterated tea dust”. Retrieved from The Hindu.

More Sources

1. “Beware! The tea you sip may be adulterated“. On Manorama.
2. “Over four tonnes of adulterated tea dust seized; one arrested“. The Hindu.