UPASI TEA RESEARCH FOUNDATION

Nirar Dam BPO, Valparai-642 127 | Coimbatore (Dis), Tamil Nadu, INDIA.
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CERTIFICATION

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Glossary of Tea Terms

There are several technical terms that are peculiar to the tea trade in the country. These include those relating to tea manufacture and also specific terms employed by producers, buyers, blenders and brokers in tea business. The extensive use of many of these terms and variations that exist in regard to some of their definitions have necessitated the preparation of an Indian Standard glossary of tea terms (IS 4541) in order to achieve a degree of Uniformity. The glossary has been compiled on the basis of teas of both North and South Indian manufacture and is intended to serve as a guide to all those interested in the tea industry.

The names and abbreviations for different grades of the teas are also given.
International Standards The International Standards for Tea are being formulated by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). The Agricultural and Food Products Technical Committee of ISO (TC 34) has under it a Subcommittee for Tea (SC 8). The Secretariat for this Subcommittee is with UK Member Body and is being managed by the British Standards Institution. Members of this Subcommittee include prominent tea producing and trading countries, namely, United Kingdom, Germany, Netherlands, China, Sri Lanka, Kenya, India. So far it has published 21 standards which relate to specification of black tea, instant tea and test methods for analysis of chemical parameters, sampling, grading, vocabulary and specification for tea sacks.

Presently, this Subcommittee is engaged in the standardization of test methods to characterize and discriminate between green and black tea in terms of total polyphenol and catechin content. To achieve this, the Subcommittee has organized international ring tests in two stages, namely, Stage 1 – To set up method with standard and instant tea samples, and Stage 2 – Analysis of leaf tea. Twenty participating laboratories from different member countries, including India, have participated in the collaborative trials. Work is still under way to carry out further investigation with the aim of improving performance and organizing another interlaboratory test. Besides, HPLC test method for determination of caffeine content is also being processed as a Draft International Standard.

Product Certification

Tea manufactures can apply for the license to use the Standard Mark for their product, if they comply with the requirements of the standard. The BIS Product Certification Scheme provides a third party guarantee to the consumer that any product which carries the Standard Mark of the Bureau meets the quality parameters prescribed in the standard.

Eco Marking

Under the scheme for labeling environment friendly products introduced at the instance of the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MEF), Government of India, the ECO Mark shall be administered by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) under the BIS Act, 1986 as per the Resolution No.71 dated 20 February 1991 as published in the Gazette of the Government of India vide GSR No.85(E) dated 21 February 1991. For a product to be eligible for the ECO Mark, it shall also carry the Standard Mark of BIS for quality, besides meeting additional environment friendly (EF) requirements. Tea manufacturers can also apply to BIS for the ECO Mark, if their product meets the additional environmental friendly requirements.

HACCP Certification

Black tea manufacturing involves primarily growing of tea plants in an estate, plucking of shoot and processing the same in the factory into a form ready for making beverage. This is a traditional, labour intensive industry, where processing is largely manual, exposing the product to contamination. Therefore, sanitation facilities and personnel hygiene need due consideration. The Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Point (HACCP) is a preventive food safety system developed by the Codex Alimentarius Commission and internationally recognized under the WTO Agreement. This system can be followed right from the point of tea plantations, through factory processing, packing and storage of tea; in other words, from its primary production to the consumer. Implementation of HACCP requires that the processing should be done under hygienic conditions, and this is a prerequisite to HACCP.

BIS has published IS 2491 : 1998 ‘Food Hygiene – General principles – Code of practice (second revision) and IS 15000 : 1988 Food Hygiene – Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) – System and Guidelines for its Application, harmonized with the corresponding Codex guidelines. BIS offers certification to companies complying with HACCP requirements along with ISO 9000 system certification. Besides, training programmes are also conducted to educate the industry in the application of HACCP Principles.