FDA issues 'stop work' to makers of famous 'Amruttulya' tea

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) department of the Maharashtra government has issued a 'stop work' notice to famous tea chain, Yewale Food Products, makers of "Amruttulya" tea, over alleged violations of Food Safety and Standards Act, officials said on Wednesday.

Officials have seized samples of sugar, tea, and tea 'masala' after a media report claimed that some addictive was allegedly used in the brew.

Yewale Food Products prepare packages of sugar, tea, and special tea masalas at their centralised manufacturing unit at Katraj in Pune and send them to their tea franchises, famously known as "Yewle Amtruttulya", in various cities.

According to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) department officials, an inspection was conducted at the Katraj unit.

"We found the products were without mandatory labels mentioning content of the ingrediants as well as the manufacturing and expiry dates. The labels are mandatory under the Food Safety and Standards Act," an official said.

The FDA also found the chain had not deputed a qualified person to supervise the manufacturing and packaging process.

He said the advertisement that tea-drinkers will not have any acidity problem after drinking "Amruttulya" tea prima facie seems misleading.

"Their claim of using mineral water for preparing tea is also misleading," he said.

A stop-work notice has been issued until the firm complies with the FDA norms, he added.

"They have been directed to not manufacture the ready-to-use mixtures and package them until then," the official said.

He said some samples of sugar, tea, and the tea 'masala' have been seized, which will be analysed at the FDA laboratory.

"The samples were collected after a report in a weekly claiming that some addictive is being mixed in the tea," the official informed.

When contacted, founder of the tea chain Nannath Yewale said they have complied with all the legal norms and sent a report to the FDA.

He refuted allegations of usage of 'addictive', saying they are baseless and aimed at defaming the reputation of the tea chain.