Your morning cup of tea might become clean, soon. The Tea Board has asked tea packeters and blenders to stop adding hazardous colours to tea.

Tea Board said blenders have been adding colours that are not permitted under the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act (PFA). PFA allows 24 natural flavours like cardamom, ginger, tulsi and mint to be mixed with tea.

It does not allow any colours although permitted to be added for other food items including sweets, ice cream, jelly, jam and flavoured milk.

"We have, thus, asked the tea packers and blenders to stop using colours that are not permitted under the law," Tea Board executive director R D Nazeem said in Coonoor on Monday.

He said some of these colours are hazardous to health. "The colours reduce the consumption of pure tea. So, we have asked the traders to withdraw such teas from the market. They have agreed to abide by the directives of the Tea Board," Nazeem pointed out.

The Tea Board hopes that the consumption of good tea would increase by 20 per cent if colouring stops.

"Only sub-standard teas are used for colouring and so, if the practice ends, the market would be rid of such teas. This will help us position the South Indian teas in the quality league of Assam and Darjeeling," the Tea Board official added.