THOOTHUKUDI: Often, a consumer does not have time at their disposal or the level of attention to detail to run through the list of ingredients while buying a product. And when two products -- one authentic and another its knock-off -- end up in the racks of retail stores under a same name, with only a label of an ingredient as the identifier, instances of one being passed off as another occur much frequently.
Karupatti, a traditional sweetener made of 'pathaneer' extracted from palmyra trees, and its confusing look-alike sugar-made jaggery are being sold under the same name, with only a label as an identifier. Ambushing the traditional sweetener in the market is the cheaper and quicker manufacturing methods of the latter.
In order to put an end to the bitter war, going on for a decade, between the two manufacturers, the food safety officials have arrived at a conclusion to advocate sugar-made jaggery manufacturers to come up with a new name for their product. Earlier, the traditional Karupatti manufacturers had, during several occasions, demanded the officials to ban the use of the name 'karupatti' for the sugar-made sweetener.
'Traditional makers face huge losses'
"The sugar-made jaggery had discredited the name of the authentic sweetener in the market and confused the customers, besides badly affected the traditional panankarupatti manufacturers," said activist V Gunaselan. He had petitioned the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to curb the sugar-made jaggery menace. Due to the increased production of sugar-made jaggery, the traditional makers had faced huge losses, he added.
Chandrasekhar, a traditional karupatti maker, says many manufacturers had migrated to Chennai in search of new jobs, after they couldn't get adequate pay. He attributed the loss to the sugar-made jaggery flooding the market. "Once, over 10,000 families from Udangudi, Tiruchendur and Sathankulam, were involved in traditional karupatti manufacturing," he added.
Label, inadequate identifier
Following repeated petitions from the traditional manufacturers, the officials instructed the sugar-made jaggery makers to mention sugar in the labels so that the public were aware of it.
Natarajan, a sugar-made jaggery manufacturer, said that the product has been manufactured in a hygienic way and marketed with a label mentioning the sugar content, as per the norms of FSSAI. The sugar-made jaggery manufacturing units have offered employment to the locals, as the cost of manufacturing is very low compared to the traditional sweetener, he added.
Besides Udangudi, Vembar village in Thoothukudi district is another traditional karupatti manufacturing hub, where the manufacturing of sugar-made jaggery has been banned by the Karupatti Traders Association. Xavier, a member of the association, told TNIE that the sugar-made jaggery manufacturers would be imposed a penalty of Rs 20,000 to Rs 1 lakh, if found guilty of marketing sugar-made jaggery under the pretext of traditional karupatti. An inspection in Udangudi brought to light that the sugar-made jaggery manufacturers have been mixing 80 per cent sugar and 20 per cent koopaini, a residue of karkandu, to achieve the odour of kaupatti.
District Consumer and Public Welfare Association Secretary R Sundararaj said that the public are confused to spot traditional karupatti in the market, as the sugar-made sweetener has flooded the market and are difficult to identify. There is a high demand for the traditional product, he added.
'Can't be marketed under same name'
Food Safety and Drug Administration Department Designated Officer Dr Mariappan said that the sugar-made jaggery makers could not market their product under the names 'karupatti' or 'panankarupatti', as it has not been made of pathaneer. "However, the product is a proprietary food item under the FSSAI Act, and can be marketed after obtaining a proprietary licence," he said.
M Sasikumar of Mapilaiyoorani, a consumer, says that the karupatti available in the market has confused the public, and that they could not identify the traditional one.
DPC, minimum support price sought
Tirunelveli District Palmyra Products Cooperative Federation Secretary Karpaga Vinayagam said that there are 95 Palmyra cooperative societies -- 46 in Thoothukudi district and 49 in combined Tirunelveli district. The data available with the federation stated that over 19,000 kg of karupatti and 2,000 kg of karkandu were procured through societies in the 2018-19 fiscal, and 20,000 kg of karupatti and 2,000 kg of karkandu were procured in the 2017-18 fiscal.
Udangudi Karupatti and Karkandu Manufacturers Association Secretary urged the State government to establish a Direct Procurement Centre (DPC) to procure traditional karupatti, and to fix a minimum support price. The State government should also take steps to supply karupatti, along with pongal gift hampers, to ration card holders, he added.
Karupatti
* Pathaneer (palmyra juice) from tender spathes collected in a clay pot, coated internally with calcium carbonate to prevent fermentation
* Pathaneer is extracted before sunrise, then boiled for three hours
* The boiled pathaneer, turns into a paste, which is collected in coconut shells and dried for one hour
* Pathaneer is extracted only between April and August
* 20 litres of pathaneer needed to prepare 2-3 kg karupatti
* Karupatti costs between Rs 300 and Rs 400 per kg
Sugar-made jaggery
* Sugar jaggery mixed with koompaini and boiled
* Paste obtained is filled in shells or trays, and dried for an hour
* 20% koopaini mixed with 80% sugar to attain karupatti odour
* Sugar-made jaggery is manufactured throughout the year
* Tonnes of sugar-made jaggery can be manufactured in a single day
* Sugar-made jaggery costs around Rs 40 per kg