Hyderabad: The police on Tuesday, February 23, busted an adulterated tea powder racket in Sanath Nagar, Hyderabad, and arrested one person.

The accused, 33-year-old Jagnnath Bishnoi, a resident of Fatehnagar, allegedly revealed during the investigation that he adulterated the tea powder using synthetic chemicals to make illegal profits.

The police seized 120 kilogram of coloured mixed tea powder, 30 kg of natural tea powder, 138 kg of cocopeat (fibre made from coconut husk) and 1.5 kg of artificial food colouring.

Bishnoi supplied the adulterated tea powder to local tea stalls and sold it to other dealers at a higher rate under the guise of selling it as genuine tea powder.

The accused would purchase cocopeat and mix it with hot j”aggery water, which was dried for a few days. Synthetic food dyes “sunset yellow” and “tartrazine orange” were added next, which were quickly absorbed by the mix. It was then left to dry again before being used for the adulteration process.

To make the adulterated tea powder that was later supplied to local tea stalls, the accused mixed low-quality tea dust and granules with the coloured cocopeat mixture.

The police advised citizens to purchase tea powder from authorised and reputable sellers to avoid adulterated products. Any suspected case of food adulteration must be reported to the concerned authorities.

The Hyderabad police warned food business operators that involvement in food adulteration will result in criminal cases and strict legal action.

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