Test kit to ensure pure kitul sap

Disna MUDALIGE

The Industrial Technology Institute (ITI) has invented a test kit to detect the adulteration of kitul sap and treacle with sugar, a well-known malpractice in the kitul industry, ITI Director Dr Sirimal Premakumara said.

The director said the new test kit provides a scientific, fairly accurate, easy and cost effective means for the detection of adulteration of sap and treacle with cane sugar, adding that this innovation would be helpful for the healthy growth of the industry.

Dr Premakumara carried out the research project with ITI senior research scientists H P P S Somasiri and P Ranasinghe.

The project's main objective is to establish a technique for authentication of kitul sap, he said.

“The intentional adulteration of kitul treacle and jaggery using sugar syrup is a problem faced by all involved in the industry as well as consumers. This lessens the standards of the kitul products in the market.”

“The widely practiced techniques to check such intentional adulteration are the taste and aroma. However these techniques are subjective and dependent on the expertise of the person,” he said.

“The non-availability of a separate Sri Lanka Standard for kitul treacle and jaggery further aggravates the problem,” he said.

Dr Premakumara said the new test kit would be introduced to the producers and local market in the near future.

“The test kit can detect a minimum of 20 percent cane sugar adulteration in kitul sap with 80 percent accuracy, and a minimum of 20 percent cane sugar adulteration in treacle with 75 percent accuracy.

“The total cost for a test is about Rs 5 and a test could be completed within five minutes. Technology was field tested at several sites where adulteration levels are usually from 50 to 100 percent, was proven successful,” he said.

Dr Premakumara said the kitul processing industry is yet to reach its full potential, adding that it has become a lucrative business especially for rural people.

He said the ITI is providing its contribution through extended researches for the uplift of the kitul industry.

Dr Premakumara said ITI has sent details to the Sri Lanka Standard Institution (SLSI) to formulate a separate standard for Sri Lankan kitul products.

Meanwhile, Traditional Industries and Small Enterprise Development Ministry Additional Secretary Susantha de Silva said the Kitulaka Waruna national exhibition will be held in April this year, adding that several regional exhibitions would also be organised parallel to it.