South Indian tea has lot to cheer with the clearance given by European Tea Committee (ETC) on low incidence of residues and low residue levels.
ETC has recently completed the surveillance data on analysis of pesticide residues in tea. The surveillance results are quite encouraging as the incidence of low residue levels in South Indian tea rarely approach European Union’s limit, said N Dharmaraj, President, Upasi.
The clearance will enhance the acceptability of South Indian teas in the global market especially within the EU. However, he added that the sector should take all precautionary measures to keep the residues far below the MRL (minimum residue limit).
Indian tea plantations, according to him, are now following the plant protection code (PPC), which makes it obligatory to use only approved agro-chemicals. PPC was issued to the tea industry as a comprehensive guideline for safe usage of Plant Protection Formulations (PPF) in tea plantations.
The code encourages tea growers to critically review their use of PPFs, reduce the use of PPFs wherever possible and over time, apply the PPFs in the safest way possible. PPC aims to achieve sustainability through good agricultural practices including integrated pest management, promotion of alternative control strategies to gradually reduce dependence on chemicals.
The MRL’s of pesticides on tea proposed by the EU, Environmental Protection Agency of USA, Japan and the Codex are taken into consideration by tea growers in India while selecting pesticides for application on tea, he said.