TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The agricultural authorities announced Monday (Aug. 15) that domestically-grown tea products will be subject to a traceability system soon as part of a crackdown on counterfeit tea.

The Council of Agriculture (COA) said origin information will be required for such products in any of the three forms. It can be a serial number, a QR code, or a label suggesting it is organic.

The measure is stipulated by the Agricultural Production and Certification Act (農產品生產及驗證管理法) to prevent imported teas from being passed off as locally cultivated. The public can submit their comments to the Agriculture and Food Agency during the 30-day notice period, which ends Sept. 14.

A 48-year-old tea dealer surnamed Chou (周) from Tainan was detained earlier this month for allegedly peddling counterfeit tea on e-commerce platforms including Shopee and Taobao to customers in Taiwan and China.

He was found to have adulterated Taiwanese tea with lower-priced Vietnamese tea and labeled it as high mountain tea from Alishan or other areas. A total of 4,500 kilograms of fake tea was seized at a tea factory in Tainan, according to district prosecutors.

Fake tea seized in Tainan. (CNA photo)