Gajapati’s date palm jaggery eyes Geographical Indication tag

The samples of date palm jaggery from the district were tested at Central government laboratories to ascertain and establish its scientific and technical nature.
Date Palm Jaggery
Date Palm Jaggery

BERHAMPUR:  Date palm jaggery of Gajapati district may soon get the Geographical Indication (GI) tag, said IPR expert of Central Tool Room and Training Centre (CTTC), Union Ministry of MSME P Karthikeyan here on Saturday.

The samples of date palm jaggery from the district were tested at Central government laboratories to ascertain and establish its scientific and technical nature.

“This form of jaggery is delicious and supplements iron and vitamin deficiency. It also has medicinal values and is used in preparation of Ayurvedic medicines for curing asthma, gastric disorders, cough, etc.

This is also used by diabetics as it contains less sugar than sugar cane jaggery, crystal sugar and other sweeteners,” said Karthikeyan, who had filed Gajapati Date Palm Jaggery- GI application in June this year. 

The GI tag for the jaggery will take a year as it has to undergo several stages, he said, adding it will help the government protect the interest of tribals, enhance their livelihood and employment. People of Soura tribe have been engaged in making date palm jaggery since ages.

In a bid to facilitate them, the State government had set up a cottage industry under Odisha Rajya Talgur Samabaya Sangha (ORTSS) at Lubusing village in R Udayagiri block in the district in 2012.

Date palm jaggery is a natural sweetener obtained from sweet juice (neera) of date palm trees. The jaggery in the district, prepared in trapezoidal form called ‘Patali gur’ traditionally, is purely organic. Dark brown in colour, it has a unique taste.

Related Stories

No stories found.
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com