Field of Invention
This invention relates to an iron fortified tea and a process for manufacture
thereof wherein tea may be black tea or green tea of leaf grade, fannings grade,
dust grade or any mixture thereof. Tea being most widely consumed beverage
world over, the iron fortified tea of the present invention has vast economic
significance as well as is of great importance to public health as it would help in
reducing iron deficiency of population through the consumption of tea beverage
prepared from iron fortified tea of the present invention.
Prior Art
Iron deficiency anemia is a serious nutrition related health problem, affecting
more than 3 billion people in the world. In India, the situation is even worse
where Iron deficiency anemia is more than 70% among the persons in lower age
group and more than 50% among the persons in other age groups and is spread
across demography and all age groups. While iron deficiency is one of the direct
causes of anemia, it is also the cause of various other physiological disorders like
energy deficiency, poor growth and development. Therefore iron fortification in
food, particularly through tea, which is widely consumed across in India, is
considered as a key measure to provide the necessary dietary iron as source to
minimize the effect of iron deficiency and the risk of iron deficiency induced
anemia.
Tea beverage is known to have an inhibitory effect on the absorption of iron in
the food consumed, particularly when tea beverage is taken immediately after or
along with the food. This inhibitory effect of tea beverage is due to the presence
of tea polyphenols, which complex with the iron in the food thereby inhibiting its
bioavailablity. This inhibitory effect of tea beverage on the absorption of iron of
food particularly when consumed with or immediately before tea beverage could

be mitigated by fortification of tea with an iron salt. However, the problem
associated with such approach of fortification of tea with an iron salt is that
addition of any of the commonly available iron salts to tea for the purposes of
such iron fortification causes complexation of tea polyphenols with such iron salts
which results in discoloration of tea. The beverage prepared from the tea
fortified with such iron salts therefore lacks the normal appearance and taste of
regular tea and therefore would not be accepted for consumption by the tea
consumers just like a regular tea beverage. The present invention overcomes this
problem and has identified an iron salt and developed a process for iron
fortification of tea with the identified iron salt, after considerable research and
development with various iron salts, which does not result in any discoloration of
tea as the identified iron salt does not interact with tea polyphenols. There is,
therefore no change in the tea profile and taste character and hence no
difference between tea beverages prepared from the iron fortified tea of the
present invention as compared to the tea beverage prepared from the regular
tea. As such, the tea beverage prepared from the iron fortified tea of the present
invention can be taken by consumers like a regular tea beverage with additional
beneficial effects of iron enrichment through the consumption of the tea
beverage.
Objects of Present Invention
An object of the present invention is to provide an iron fortified tea and process
for manufacture thereof wherein the tea manufactured has the same texture as
that of regular tea and the tea beverage prepared therefrom has taste and
characteristics of a regular tea beverage.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an iron fortified tea which
provides minimum of 26mg dietary iron in 100 g tea. Each cup of the tea

beverage prepared from the iron fortified tea of the present invention provides
minimum 0.6mg iron. If three cups of such tea beverage are consumed per day,
these would provide minimum 1.8mg of iron that would meet minimum of 5% of
the recommended daily allowance of 26mg of Iron per day.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide an iron fortified tea
which has higher bioavailability of iron as compared to other iron fortified foods
and beverages, using different iron salts which are typically used for the food
and beverages iron fortification such as Ferric pyrophosphate, Ferrous sulfate
etc.
Further object of the present invention is to provide an iron fortified tea wherein
iron salt used for fortification is ferrous bis glycine sulfate or ferric trisglycinate.
The amino acid (in this case Glycine) in the case of these iron salts is bonded to
Iron, leaving no vacant orbital in the iron atom, which prevents Iron present in
these salts from complexing with polyphenols and other similar molecules,
thereby iron remains more bioavailable for absorption in the digestive tract.
Still further object of the present invention is to provide an iron fortified tea
wherein the dietary iron fortification in tea does not lead to any change in color
or other organoleptic properties of the tea and the tea beverage is prepared from
the iron fortified tea of the present invention using the same process as used for
the preparation of regular tea beverage.
Yet further object of the present invention is to provide an iron fortified tea and
process for manufacture thereof wherein the process enables uniform
distribution of dietary iron in the tea as well as in the beverage prepared
therefrom.

Even further object of the present invention is to provide an iron fortified tea
which has a shelf life of six months in the pack.
Further objects and advantages of the present invention would be evident from
the detailed description and the illustrative examples that follow.
Statement of Invention
According to the present invention, there is provided an Iron fortified tea
comprising:
(a) regular tea in quantity in the range of 99.5 % to 99.88 % by weight of
the product, wherein regular tea is black tea or green tea in leaf grade,
fannings grade, dust grade or any mixture thereof;
(b) iron salt in quantity in the range of 0.1 - 0.3% by weight, wherein iron
salt is selected from ferrous bis glycine sulphate and ferric trisglycinate;
(c) Starch base in quantity in the range of 0.02 to 0.2% by weight
wherein the starch used is specialty tapioca dextrin with high solubility,
good clarity and bland taste.
According to this invention, there is provided a process for manufacture of an
Iron fortified tea comprising steps of:
(a) preparation homogenized starch mix by mixing pre-heated deionised
water with starch base followed by homogenizing the mix for at least 15
minutes; wherein starch base with respect to deionised water is taken in
the weight by volume ratio of 1:50 to 1:75 and where said deionised

water is pre-heated to a temperature in the range of 50-85°C and while
mixing temperature is maintained in the range of 65-75°C;
(b) preparing an iron solution by adding an Iron salt to the homogenized
mix obtained by step (a) and homogenizing the resultant mix further for
at least 15 minutes, wherein temperature is maintained in the range of
60-70 °C and wherein iron salt is selected from ferrous bis glycin sulphate
and ferric trisglycinate and wherein said iron salt is taken in the weight by
volume ratio around 1:20 with respect to homogenized mix obtained by
step (a) and wherein the iron solution obtained has solid content in the
range of 4-7%;
(c) preparation of dried concentrate by spraying of iron solution obtained
by step (b) in a Forberg mixer on regular tea and mixing for 5-10 minutes
in the blender followed by drying the mixture to moisture less than 5% in
a fluid bed drier, at 70 - 80 Deg C wherein the iron solution obtained by
step (b) and regular tea are taken in the volume by weight ratio of 1:5 to
1:6 thereby obtaining dried concentrate where regular tea is black tea or
green tea in leaf grade, fannings grade, dust grade or any mixture
thereof; and
(d) preparation of desired iron fortified tea by mixing dried concentrate
obtained by step (c) with a regular tea in the ratio of 1:4 by weight.
The present invention is one of the breakthrough inventions. Tea beverage,
which is one of the most widely consumed beverage at all levels in the society,
has a negative association with respect to Iron. Whereas, the present invention
provides iron fortified tea which at the same time has a texture like a regular tea

and beverage prepared therefrom has similar taste characteristics as that of
regular tea and also has enhanced bio-availability of iron. The Iron deficiency
being one of the leading causes of anemia and several other diseases, this
invention will give a long term benefit in combating iron deficiency, by providing
dietary iron through Tea and that would impact the general health status of the
population.
Description of the Invention
According to this invention, the 100g of the final product of dried iron fortified
tea of the present invention comprises following ingredients expressed as weight
percentage of the product:
Regular Tea - 99.5 to 99.88%, preferably 99.6 to 99.7%
Iron salt - 0.1 - 0.3% , preferably 0.15 -0.25%
Starch base - 0.02 to 0.2% preferably 0.05 to 0.1%
According to this invention, the process for manufacture of the iron fortified tea
comprises the steps of:
(a) Preparation homogenized starch mix
Deionised water is heated in the range of 50-85 Deg C preferably in the
range of 65-75 Deg C. The minimum temperature of 50 Deg C is necessary as
below 50 Deg C, the ingredients are not completely soluble in the said
deionised water and therefore when iron salt is added to the said water, it
does not result in uniform dispersion of the ingredients in the water. Starch
base is added to such pre-heated water and is homogenized for at least 15
minutes using a Silverson homogenizer maintaining temperature in the range

of 65 to 75 degree C, so as to ensure proper mixing and distributing of
ingredients evenly in the solvent. Starch base and deionised water are taken
in the ratio in the range of 1:50 to 1:75 in weight by volume of deionised
water
(b) Preparation of an Iron Solution
An iron solution is prepared by addition of an iron salt to the homogenized
starch mix obtained by step (a) and mixing for at least 15 min, ensuring
maintaining of temperature not below 50 Deg C but preferably in the range of
60-70 Deg C. Iron salt and the homogenized mix are taken in the weight by
volume ratio of around 1:20. The iron salt is selected from ferrous bis glycine
sulphate and ferric trisglycinate that has 10 to 20% iron.
(c) Preparation of Concentrate-Spraying of Iron Solution over
Regular Tea
The iron solution obtained by step (b), with a solid content of 4 - 7%, is
sprayed over regular tea and mixed for minimum 5-10 min in a Forberg
mixer, which has an axial spray arrangement and paddle type blenders, to
ensure uniform distribution of iron salt in the tea. The regular tea may be leaf
grade, fannings grade, dust grade or any mixture thereof. The mixture of iron
solution and regular tea after thorough mixing is dried in a fluid bed drier at a
temperature between 70 to 90 Deg C to a moisture less than 5%, thereby
obtaining the dried concentrate iron fortified tea. The ratio of volume of iron
solution to the regular tea over which it is sprayed is in the range of 1:5 to
1:6 in volume by weight of regular tea.

(d) Preparation of Iron Fortified Tea
The dried concentrate obtained by step (c) is then mixed with regular tea in
the ratio of 1:4 by weight in a rotary blender or vertical static blender to
ensure uniform distribution of Iron in the desired level.
Working Examples
The invention will now be illustrated with working examples which are
intended to be illustrative examples so as to illustrate the working of the
invention and are not intended to be taken restrictively to imply any limitation
on the scope of the present invention.
Example 1
30 litre of Deionised water is heated between 70 and 75 Deg C. 0.6 kg of
Starch base is added to such pre-heated treated water and is homogenized
for 15 minutes using a Silverson or high speed homogenizer. 1.5 kg of ferrous
bis glycine sulphate is added to the homogenized mix and homogenized again
for 15 min at 55-60 deg C. The iron solution thus obtained is sprayed over
150 kg of black tea (dust grade) with moisture < 5% taken in the Forberg
blender. The blending is continued for 5-10 min where the fortificant iron
solution is blended in the tea uniformly and then dried in the fluid bed drier
between 70-80 deg C to get 152.1 Kg dried concentrate with final moisture of
5%. 100 Kg of the final dried concentrate is then blended with black tea (dust
grade) at 1:4 ratio to get 500 Kg final product.

Example 2
30 litre of Deionised water is heated between 70 to 75 Deg C. 0.6 kg of
Starch base is added to such pre-heated treated water and is homogenized
for 15 minutes using a Silverson homogeniser. 1.5 kg of ferrous bis glycine
sulphate is added to the homogenized mix and homogenized again for 15 min
at 55-60 deg C. The iron solution thus obtained is sprayed over 150 kg of
green tea (leaf grade) with moisture < 5% taken in the Forberg blender. The
blending is continued for 5-10 min where the fortificant iron solution is
blended in the tea uniformly and then dried in the fluid bed drier between 70-
80 deg C to get 152.1 Kg dried concentrate with final moisture of 5%. The
final dried concentrate is then blended with green tea (leaf grade) at 1:4 ratio
to get 760.5 Kg final desired product.
Example 3
100 litre of Deionised water is heated between 70 to 75 Deg C. 2 kg of Starch
base is added to such pre-heated treated water and is homogenized for 20
minutes using a Silverson homogeniser. 4 kg of Ferric trisglycinate is added to
the homogenized starch mix thus obtained and homogenized again for 25
min at 55-60 deg C. The iron solution thus obtained is then sprayed over 600
kg black tea (fannings grade) with moisture <5% taken in the Forberg
blender in 4 batches. The blending is continued for 5-10 min where the
fortificant iron solution is blended in the tea uniformly and then dried in the
fluid bed drier between 70-80 deg C t get 606.4 Kg concentrate with final
moisture of 5%. The dried concentrate is then blended with black tea
(fannings grade) at 1:4 ratio to get 3032 Kg of final desired product.

It is to be understood that the iron fortified tea of the present invention and
process for manufacture thereof is susceptible to modifications, equivalent
changes and adaptations by those skilled in the art. Such modifications,
equivalent or minor process parameter changes and adaptations embodying
the principles and features of the present invention are intended to be within
the scope of the present invention which is further set forth under the
following claims:

We claim:
1. An Iron fortified tea comprising:
(a) regular tea in quantity in the range of 99.5 % to 99.88 % by
weight of the product, wherein regular tea is black tea or green
tea in leaf grade, fannings grade, dust grade or any mixture
thereof;
(b) iron salt in quantity in the range of 0.1 - 0.3% by weight,
wherein iron salt is selected from ferrous bis glycine sulphate and
ferric trisglycinate;
(c) Starch base in quantity in the range of 0.02 to 0.2% by weight,
wherein the starch used is specialty tapioca dextrin with high
solubility, good clarity and bland taste.

2. An Iron fortified tea as claimed in claim 1 wherein regular tea content
is in the range of 99.6 to 99.7% .
3. An Iron fortified tea as claimed in claim 1 wherein iron salt is in
quantity in the range of 0.15 to 0.25%
4. An Iron fortified tea as claimed in claim 1 wherein starch base is in
quantity in the range of 0.05 to 0.1%
5. An Iron fortified tea as claimed in claim 1 wherein the beverage
prepared from the tea provides a minimum 0.6mg of iron per cup of
tea.

6. An Iron fortified tea as claimed in claim 1 wherein 100g of the tea
provides minimum 26mg of dietary iron.
7. An Iron fortified tea as herein substantially described and illustrated.
8. A process for manufacture of an Iron fortified tea comprising steps of:

(a) preparation homogenized starch mix by mixing pre-heated
deionised water with starch base followed by homogenizing the mix
for at least 15 minutes using a Silverson or high speed
homogenizer; wherein starch base with respect to deionised water
is taken in the weight by volume ratio of 1:50 to 1:75 and where
said deionised water is pre-heated to a temperature in the range of
50-85°C and while mixing temperature is maintained in the range
of 65-75°C and wherein the starch used is specialty tapioca dextrin
with high solubility, good clarity and bland taste;
(b) preparing an iron solution by adding an Iron salt to the
homogenized mix obtained by step (a) and homogenizing the
resultant mix further for at least 15 minutes, wherein temperature
is maintained in the range of 60-70 °C and wherein iron salt is
selected from ferrous bis glycin sulphate and ferric trisglycinate and
wherein said iron salt is taken in the weight by volume ratio around
1:20 with respect to homogenized mix obtained by step (a) and
wherein the iron solution obtained has solid content in the range
of 4-7% ;

(c) preparation of dried concentrate by spraying of iron solution
obtained by step (b) in a Forberg mixer on regular tea and mixing
for 5-10 minutes in the blender followed by drying the mixture to
moisture less than 5% in a fluid bed drier, at 70 - 80 Deg C
wherein the iron solution obtained by step (b) and regular tea are
taken in the volume by weight ratio of 1:5 to 1:6 thereby obtaining
dried concentrate where regular tea is black tea or green tea in leaf
grade, fannings grade, dust grade or any mixture thereof; and
(d) preparation of desired iron fortified tea by mixing dried
concentrate obtained by step (c) with a regular tea in the ratio of
1:4 by weight.

9. A process as claimed in claim 8 wherein the deionised water is heated
to a temperature in the range of 65-75 °C.
10. A process as claimed in Claim 8, where in the mix after spraying is
dried between 73 - 78 Deg C.
11. A process for manufacture of iron fortified tea as herein substantially
described and illustrated.

The fortification of tea using any of the commonly known iron salts results
in complexation of iron with tea polyphenols when tea is brewed, leading to
discoloration of the brew and making it unpalatable. Tea beverage prepared
from such tea lacks the normal tea appearance and taste and as such would
not be accepted by consumers as a regular tea beverage. This invention
overcomes this problem by identifying iron salts and provides process for
manufacture of iron fortified tea using the identified iron salts, wherein the
identified iron salt does not interact with the tea polyphenols, when
beverage is made. The fortified tea manufactured has appearance similar to
regular tea and the tea beverage prepared from such iron fortified tea by
the same process as used for regular tea has
and taste similar
to beverage prepared from regular tea with the additional benefit of iron
enrichment to the consumers. This invention is applicable to fortification of
both black tea and green tea.