Just one of 301 high-quality domestic tea products subject to random checks last year was found to have fabricated origins, yielding a 99.7 percent compliance rate for new labeling regulations, the Agriculture and Food Agency said yesterday.
Since 2023, the agency has required all domestically produced tea to be labeled with a place of origin, record of production and sale, or an organic label.
The rules ensure that manufacturers do not mix domestic teas with cheaper, imported tea from regions such as Vietnam to protect producer and consumer rights, and maintain the reputation of domestic tea, the agency said.
Photo courtesy of the Agriculture and Food Agency
To enforce these regulations, periodic and random spot checks are conducted using fake shoppers to purchase tea for testing, it said.
The inspections are a joint effort by the agency and organizations including the High Prosecutors’ Office, the Food and Drug Administration and the Tea and Beverage Research Station, it added.
Last year, the agency tested 501 samples of domestic tea, including 200 market samples and 301 competition-grade samples, it said.
Four were found to have undetermined origin and one contained imported tea mixed with domestic tea, which has been passed to the High Prosecutors’ Office for investigation and prosecution under articles 255 and 339 of the Criminal Code, it said.
Furthermore, labels were checked for 1,157 tea products, with 90 found to have labels that were not sufficiently clear — a 92.2 percent compliance rate, it added.
The manufacturers have been notified to rectify labeling to meet industry standards and regulations, the agency said.
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