Top executive sacked as Australian police uncover alleged kickback scam at Woolworths.

Woolworth executive, Bill Harvey, was held by police at the company’s headquarters last month amid an investigation into a “promotional surcharges” scheme which involved 15-20% surcharges being paid by tea and coffee wholesalers to Mr Harvey in order to guarantee that their products were stocked at the retail giant.

On an annual salary of $150,000, Mr Harvey was employed by Woolworths as buyer of coffee, tea, sugar, soup and milk produce. He has since been replaced at the company as police investigations now encompass retailers and wholesalers over three states.

Police in Victoria; New South Wales, have already seized $50,000 in cash which has been linked to coffee and tea suppliers which are alleged to have paid to get their products onto the shelves of the company’s 700 stores throughout Australia.

At present, police inquires are focusing on the coffee and tea industry but will be extended at a later date to further examine Mr Harvey’s dealings and to ascertain whether or not the scheme might have spread to other products within the Woolworths range.

Speaking to the Australian press, Clare Buchanan – Woolworths public relations manager – has confirmed that Woolworths are “working closely with police to investigate an allegation and an individual is currently assisting police with their inquires”.

“Woolworths take such matters extremely seriously but due to the ongoing investigation can make no further comment at this time.”

Audit investigators, working with the police, have begun checking suspect assets and will be looking at suspects finances closely to see if they have been receiving large sums of money and living beyond their means.

The surcharges scandal is the latest in a host of recent allegations made against Coles and Woolworths, two of Australia’s largest supermarket chains.

Scientists from the department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the University of Hong Kong have confirmed that substances found in green tea do penetrate into the tissues of the eye, a fact previously unknown as scientists were unsure if catechins, which are antioxidants thought to protect the body against damage from oxygen, could make their way from the mouth to the gastrointestinal system to the eyes.

The article, which is featured in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, is the first of its kind to document how the lens, retina and other tissues within the eyes absorb beneficial substances such as catechins. The research within the study raises the possibility that among green tea’s long list of already documented health benefits that it might also help to protect against common eye diseases such as glaucoma. 

Catechins contained within green tea, as well as other antioxidants such as vitamin C and E, lutein and zeaxanthin have long been linked with having the capability of protecting the eye from disease, but lack of research has, until now, left this thought unproven. 

The study was conducted using laboratory rats that were fed green tea over a period of time. Subsequent dissection and analysis of the rats’ eye tissue showed significant absorption of individual catechins into various structures of the eye. The retina was seen to absorb the highest levels of gallocatechin, with the aqueous humor absorbing epigallocatechin.

The authors of the research stated that their ‘results indicate that green tea consumption could benefit the eye against oxidative stress’.  The effect of the green tea catechins on the laboratory rats was a reduction in harmful oxidative stress in the eye, which lasted up to twenty hours.

Research:
Pang et al. Green Tea Catechins and Their Oxidative Protection in the Rat Eye. J. Agric. Food Chem., 2010, 58 (3), pp 1523–1534. DOI: 10.1021/jf9032602

A strike over pay, last week, saw African tea prices fall as shipments were disrupted by workers picketing warehouses.

Workers from tea warehouses in Mombasa staged a strike which lasted for four days, effectively shutting down the tea distribution network in Mombasa – the port city which plays host to one of the world’s largest auctions of tea.

The affects of the strike are believed to hit hardest later next week as the Kenyan tea trade braces itself as delays in delivery are expected to have a negative impact on auction prices.

The strike was initiated after workers in some tea warehouses were paid below the minimum recommended wage.
George Nesbitt, the director of Tea Warehouses Ltd, told reporters that ‘companies were affected because there was picketing even at the places where they were paying the agreed rate.’

The situation has now been resolved as management increased the disgruntled workers pay in warehouses that were paying below minimum salary recommendations. After three hours of negotiations representatives of the Kenya Shipping Clearing and Warehouses Workers Union were able to reach an agreement with warehouse owners – who agreed to increase minimum payment from Sh11.25 for a 90kg bag of tea to Sh13.70, also increasing the rate from Sh6.25 for a 50kg bag to Sh7.50.

Tea prices fell this week at the Mombasa auctions, with 21% of tea on offer remaining unsold by end of bidding. Of the 24 tea grades presented at the auction, prices were seen to drop on 20 different grades.

The labour disruptions around Mombasa warehouses, caused by striking workers, is believed to be the cause after more than 2,000 loaders refused to work until a deal was reached over pay.

Caffeine consumption, for one, seems to be an extremely popular subject at the moment. Too much caffeine is bad, so we’re told, and we should cut it out of our diet. So, if you’re one of the ever dwindling few that is sticking to their guns and resolve and is keeping up with that healthy lifestyle resolution from New Year’s then I feel it is my duty to make things a little easier for you.

Being one of the great daily pleasures in life, tea is a must have – even for those of you that can’t or don’t want to have caffeine in your diet. There is a whole host of teas and herbal infusions that can quite easily substitute for your regular cuppa – although it must be said that the decaffeination process does reduce the flavour of tea leaves slightly and hence nothing can truly beat the real thing.

Decaffeinated teas are decaffeinated by using one of two methods, the most gentle and natural being the carbon dioxide process. This process involves dissolving the caffeine in liquid CO2, which as a gas is naturally present in the air we breathe. This produces a decaffeinated tea with most of its original flavour. The alternative caffeine solvent is methyl chloride, which is used for most decaffeinated teas but causes a greater lose of flavour.

I think it’s safe to say that the morning is probably the most difficult time of the day for people trying to give up caffeine. Rudely awoken by the beep, beep, beep of your alarm clock, rushing to get ready whilst your brain still seems to be counting sheep, well don’t panic – decaffeinated teas such as Earl Grey, English Breakfast or even Chinese Sencha offer a refreshing and invigorating taste whilst being totally free of caffeine. These offer a great taste and are only marginally less flavourful than their caffeine counterparts.

So, perhaps before you make up your mind you should take a look at the Saviour of Tea’s articles on decaffeinated tea and reduced caffeine/caffeine free alternatives – you might find something in there that will suit you better than giving up caffeine completely. There are also great tips on how to decaffeinate your own tea and some helpful advice on finding the right type of tea for you.

Enjoy!

With the ever increasing popularity of green and herbal teas continuing their upward trend, the Nettle plant seems to have lost its image as the dreaded stinger of children and is finally being recognised for its vast and varied health benefits and sweet taste. 

Once boiled, the venom that is found in the leaves of the Nettle plant (Urtica Dioica) is neutralised and is completely safe to drink. 

Nettle Tea has many reported health benefits, as the plant contains iron, calcium, magnesium, cobalt, zinc, thiamine, flavanoids, antioxidants and vitamin C. The beverage has been reported to have anti-inflammatory properties which make it an ideal drink for anyone suffering with acne, arthritis and hay fever. An effective aid for people suffering from asthma, digestive problems – the list really does just go on and on.

But ultimately, as we always say here at All About Tea, it’s the taste that really matters – the added health benefits are just a nice bonus.

If you’d like to know more about Nettle Tea then just click on the image below, where the Saviour of Tea gives some of his expert advert.

As part of its growth strategy, KETEPA is gearing up to introduce a new range of liquid beverages for health-conscious consumers.

As part of the strategy, the firm has introduced a new bottled water brand known as Maisha that aims to tap into surging demand for bottled water.

The Managing Director of Ketepa, Tim Chege, said the firm is sharpening its focus on innovative products to address new emerging opportunities arising from changes in lifestyles.

“We are currently investing in new technology to upgrade our product offerings. We are now focusing on the health and lifestyle platform to increase our share of business in value added products,” said Chege.

 Maisha pure drinking water will be available in 300ml, 500ml, 1 litre, 1.5 litre and 18.7 litre bottles with dispenser machines. The country’s bottled water market is fast growing and presents a lucrative opportunity for the firm.

“The company has acquired purifying and distilling technology to produce the water brand. Our existing infrastructure in packaging and distribution gives us an edge to enter into this highly competitive business,” said Chege.

KETEPA is one of the largest tea blending and packaging companies in Africa with a capacity to produce 15 million kilograms of packed loose-leaf tea and over 1 million Kilograms of tea bags per annum.

The MD said bottled water plays a significant role during emergency situations such as floods or outbreak of cholera when it provides a source of pure, safe drinking water. 

“Contrary to popular belief, bottled water is not just for the well to do, many lower income people use bottled water as their source of drinking water especially where their main source of water has been compromised,” said Chege.

 The bottled water market is projected to grow by 42 percent between 2007 and 2012 to over 314 million litres. The estimated market value – as in 2007 – is Kshs11.8 Billion (US$ 154.6). The bottling water Sector has over 350 players, however only 10 players dominate the market in terms of volume and value.

A recent study in the Journal of Nutrition into the bioavailability and catabolism of green tea flavan-3-ols in humans was carried out by a team of Italian researchers. The study is the latest, and perhaps most convincing, in a long line of scientific investigations into the relationship between tea, specifically green tea, and antioxidant absorption in the human body.

The aim of the study was to investigate green tea flavan-3-ols, also known as flavanols, absorption in the human body; or perhaps more precisely what percentage of the antioxidants contained within green tea stay in the body after digestion.

By measuring the catabolism, plasma pharmacokinetics and urinary excretion using high performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry, the researchers hoped to discover the absolute bioavailability of flavan-3-ols – taking into account interaction with the gastrointestinal tract and its host microflora.

Twenty healthy human volunteers were examined and then were asked to ingested 400 mL of a ready-to-drink (RTD) green tea containing approximately 400 μmol of flavan-3-ols. The RTD contained tea leaves from Sri Lankan, lemon juice, sugar, dextrose, ascorbic acid and flavouring.

Urine and plasma samples were then collected four and twenty-four hours after initial ingestion of the RTD and measurements and analysis was undertaken.

Thirty-nine relevant catabolites were identified in the biological fluids by tandem mass spectrometry.

Results showed a calculated bioavailability equal to 39 percent within the studied participants (almost a 40 percent absorption of antioxidants), with varying urinary excretion of colonic metabolites – believed to be related to individual differences in colonic microflora. Epigallocatechin-3-galate, which is the most commonly found catechin in tea, was the only un-metabolized compound as well as the highest in absolute concentration.

The study concluded by stating that its results not only demonstrated that green tea catechins are more bioavailable than previously thought, but also that regular consumption of RTD green tea containing flavan-3-ols allows a ‘non-marginal exposure of the human body to these catabolites, somehow justifying the numerous beneficial actions described as linked to green tea intake’.  

References:

Del Rio D, Calani L, Cordero C, Salvatore S, Pellegrini N, Brighenti F. Bioavailability and catabolism of green tea flavan-3-ols in humans.
Nutrition. 2010 Jan 14. [Epub ahead of print]

Tea Plantation, Nuwara Eliya

The Sri Lankan government is pledging $40.7m to the nation’s tea smallholders.

The Plantation Industries Ministry aims to improve profitability for the marginal tea smallholdings of the mid-country region, as well as the arable farmers in the Moneragala region.

The Smallholder Plantation Entrepreneurship Development Program (SPEnDP), funded by the International Fund For Agricultural Development, will develop 3,500 hectares of arable lands and 3,800 hectares of rubber plantations in Mongerala.

C. Maliyadda, the Project Co-ordinator, says that the programme aims to improve living standards for smallholders and their families by encouraging entrepreneurship and partnership between the smallholders and the tea factories.

75ha of tea gardens have already been replanted under the scheme.

The area covered by the scheme includes Kegelle, Kandy, Nuwara Eliya and Mongeragal District. 8,700 households are expected to benefit, a total of 32,250 individuals.

Amul Packaging

Amul, the largest food company in India, is adding a tea brand to its range.

Amul, which already dominates India’s food industry with a range of products that includes milk, ice cream, butter, milk shake, margarine and chocolate among many others, is already selling 50 tonnes of tea a month to its milk producers.

The Amul brand is owned by the Gujurat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation.

Federation Chairman Parthi Bhatol said, “Without spending a single penny on marketing, we have been selling 50 tonnes of tea every month to farmers in the Manaskantha district through our existing network for the past seven years.

“We procure tea auctioned in Assam through our agent, package it at our dairy and supply directly to our milk societies. In turn, they sell it to milk producers. We now plan to scale it up for a larger market.”

Amul has access to 320,000 farmers in Gujurat, which will make its entry into this competitive rural market considerably easier.

Kenyatta Centre, Nairobi

Kenya is inviting Nigerian investment in its tea trade.

Francis Sigei, the Kenyan High Commissioner to Nigeria, says that Kenya hopes to create closer business ties with Nigeria in the areas of tea, tourism and real estate among others.

“Our tea is amongst the highest quality in the world and we want Nigerians to come and invest in this product and some others too”, he said in Lagos last week.

“We want to have African countries trading amongst themselves”, he added. “We believe we can have many Nigerians go to Nairobi and enjoy themselves. Kenya airways is one of our links”.

Mr Sigei also pointed out that Nigerians would be able to repatriate all of their profits, which would be large, from Kenya without restriction.