PESHAWAR, Dec 4: Adulterated tea has flooded the city market and is being sold openly in connivance with food inspectors, a survey by Dawn shows.

A shopkeeper told this scribe that the skillful adulteration had blurred the difference between pure and adulterated tea. Therefore, he added, shopkeepers often sold substandard item at the price of pure.

He said that a particular type of colour and husks of gram were common ingredients which were widely used in making the adulterated tea.

Adulterators have been running their business for years despite a check on the quality of food items by the health and food officials in particular and corporation and cantonment board authorities in general.

People accuse food inspectors of taking bribe for allowing the illegal business. “Food inspectors do visit markets regularly but only to receive bribe from shopkeepers,” complained a citizen, Tariq Iqbal Gulozai.

He said that so far no shop was sealed on the charge of selling the adulterated tea. Otherwise, he added, traders would not dare indulge in such malpractice.

Asked about the prices of the tea, a shopkeeper in Hashtnagari Bazaar said: “Starting from Rs60 per kilogram, the prices of different qualities of tea go up to Rs240 per kg.”

He said that People Mandi, Bazaar Misgarn, Hashtnagari Bazaar and Ashraf Road were notorious for tea adulteration.

“Monopoly of some particular businessmen no longer exists in the illegal trade as adulteration process is very easy and any one could successfully adulterate other ingredients with tea.”

One of the food analysts suggested the establishment of food courts on the line of health courts for ensuring the availability of pure and healthy food items in markets.