Kolhapur APMC asks farmers to get jaggery tested for synthetic colour, added sweeteners

Kolhapur: The Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) in Kolhapur has decided that all the jaggery brought in by the farmers will be tested for the presence of synthetic color, other chemicals and sweeteners.The jaggery producers have also agreed that from April 24 they will get their produce tested in the laboratory before bringing it to the APMC. The farmers and traders are also being convinced to use a QR code which upon scanning will help the customers know the product's source and lab test results.The new initiative comes after a test conducted by the Gujarat FDA on jaggery samples bought from Kolhapur. As per the lab result, chemical or synthetic colors were found in the jaggery. The FDA, accordingly, issued a notice to the trader upon which buying of jaggery from Kolhapur APMC stopped from Monday.The APMC in Kolhapur also issued a show-cause notice to the trader whose jaggery sample had allegedly tested positive for presence of synthetic color. While talking to TOI, an APMC official said that the trader concerned is not sure whether the jaggery was bought by him from Kolhapur district or elsewhere."Some farmers vehemently opposed the accusations stating that jaggery brought to Kolhapur APMC from other places such as some parts of Karnataka have been using the chemicals, inorganic colors and even sugar in high content," the official said.Ramchandra Dhashte, head of jaggery division of Kolhapur APMC, said, "In the meeting between traders and farmers, it has been decided to test the jaggery samples before bringing the lot to APMC for auctioning. This will ensure at least that chemical or synthetic colours have not been used and the FDA guidelines have been followed."Lasty year, around Rs251 crore of jaggery was auctioned at Kolhapur APMC and this time around, the trade has increased to Rs300 crore. The farmers claim that the traders are the ones who prefer the jaggery with added colour and sugar claiming that the customers prefer it.Therefore, the traditional jaggery making has been adversely impacted and very few farmers make organic jaggery. The farmers claim that in some parts of Karnataka where there is delayed crushing, the natural sugar content is less. "Therefore, artificial sweeteners and colors are added to make the produce look and taste like Kolhapuri Jaggery.," a farmer said.Ram Patil, a jaggery producer from Karveer tehsil of Kolhapur, said, "We propose to stop the auctioning of jaggery at Kolhapur APMC after the end of crushing season. This will make the customers aware that the jaggery they buy off-season is not Kolhapuri Jaggery. Also, the traders are not ready to buy the organic jaggery, citing customer preferences."