This time, tea companies have been exposed on the list of food fraudsters.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has updated the list of companies that engage in imitation and adulteration. Companies selling tea across Turkey have also been added to the list.

STAY AWAY FROM THESE 7 BRANDS

The ministry makes these announcements through the website "guvenilirgida.tarimorman.gov.tr". When the published lists are examined, it was found that the teas produced by 7 companies were mixed with "Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients" and food coloring.

WHY IS FOOD COLORING MIXED WITH TEA?

When food coloring is added to tea leaves, it causes the tea to take on a darker color in the pot and cup. Thus, while an average brew yields 15 cups of tea, it is possible to obtain two to even five times that amount from tea mixed with food coloring, depending on the proportion of the additive.

IS FOOD COLORING MIXED WITH PURE TEA?

Although food coloring is used for many products, mixing it with tea depends on two options due to the unique properties of tea. While the darkness obtained when food is mixed with natural tea increases, it causes a significant decrease in the quality and thus the flavor of the tea. For this reason, food coloring is mostly added to low-quality tea leaves, which are even considered unsuitable for consumption as drinking tea. In this way, fraudsters aim to achieve much larger profits by adding food coloring to tea leaves they produce at a much lower cost and selling it as tea.