The Rooibos Tea, Herbal Tea, or Flower Tea promoted as healthy beverages may soon lose the ‘tea’ tag.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) issued a clarification on December 24, asserting that a beverage qualifies to be called tea only if it is derived from the plant Camellia sinensis.
Tea in granular or dried leafy form has traditionally been processed from leaves plucked from Camellia sinensis across tea plantations, big or small, in India. Plantation workers usually pluck two leaves and a bud – unopened, tender tip of a new shoot – from the branches of the plant.
“It has come to the notice of FSSAI that some Food Business Operators (FBOs) are marketing products that are not obtained from the plant Camellia sinensis under the name ‘Tea’, such as ‘Rooibos Tea’, ‘Herbal Tea’, ‘Flower Tea’, etc.,” the notification read.
Citing standards specified under 2.10.1 of the Food Safety and Standards (Food Product Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011, the FSSAI said tea, including Kangra tea, green tea and instant tea in solid form, shall be exclusively from Camellia sinensis.
