Adulterated ‘Chai’ powder increasingly becoming threat to ‘Hyderabadis’
Hyderabad: Fraudsters are hitting the Hyderabadi where it hurts. For a city that survives more on tea than on oxygen, adulterated tea powder is increasingly becoming a threat. Organised gangs are eyeing the city markets to pump in sub-standard tea powder, as recent raids at a few places show. On Tuesday night, the Hyderabad Commissioner’s […]
Hyderabad: Fraudsters are hitting the Hyderabadi where it hurts. For a city that survives more on tea than on oxygen, adulterated tea powder is increasingly becoming a threat. Organised gangs are eyeing the city markets to pump in sub-standard tea powder, as recent raids at a few places show.
On Tuesday night, the Hyderabad Commissioner’s Task Force caught one person who was selling adulterated tea powder at Aghapura. Over 200 kilogram of the stuff was seized from him.
Task Force (South) Inspector S Raghavendra said the man, Mohammed Sami, was purchasing the inferior quality tea powder from the market and after mixing it with chemicals, was packing it in branded company packets and supplying in the market illegally.
Last month, the police raided a tea powder processing unit at Gowliguda and seized around 216 bags of adulterated tea powder. The man, Vishnu Gopal Tiwari, was purchasing inferior quality tea powder from some persons and after mixing some chemicals, was packing and marketing it under various brands without obtaining the clearance of Food Safety Authority officials.
“Use of chemicals results in health issues to consumers, The gangs are purchasing chemicals from markets and mixing it for colour and flavors in duplicate tea powder,” DCP (Task Force) Gummi Chakravarthy said. Another tactic adopted by the gangs was to source empty boxes or sachets of branded companies through some agents and pack local stuff in them.
“After packing it in boxes or sachets of branded companies, the product is later supplied to retailers who resell it at high prices,” another police official said.
It is not just tea that is facing the adulteration threat. The City Police have in the past seized huge stocks of inferior quality coconut oil, soaps, shampoos, detergent powder and other products being pumped into the market by organized gangs.
In 2021, the Hyderabad Commissioner’s Task Force teams caught at least seven gangs who are involved in selling adulterated products, mostly tea powder.
Also read: Over 200 kg of adulterated tea powder seized in Hyderabad
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