Testing method: Tapioca growers cry foul
Commodity Online COIMBATORE: Tapioca farmers in Tamil Nadu are crying foul over the botched-up testing methods of chemical properties such as the presence of hydrocyanic acid content in sago/starch.
According to members of the United Farmers Association in Salem, the industry wants greater transparency in the analysis of the chemical properties. Sago is produced from tapioca.
To overcome the current tussle among growers, sago/starch manufacturers and middlemen, the association has suggested that evaluation of the chemical properties for sago should be based on the standards governing the provisions of the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act and the experts from the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research should be asked to find a suitable technology to remove the hydrocyanic acid that occurs naturally in production of sago.
The association also urged that all sago/starch factories not having soft-potable water should be asked to install water treatment plants so that the tapioca root crushing is being done only with the use of softened water.
The drastic fall in the tapioca prices and also the price crash of sago/starch has become a matter of concern for both the growers and the sago trade.
According to traders, the tapioca farmers were put at difficulty due to the sharp decline in price because the sago mill owners could not get the prices for their produce that was rejected at the market yards due to the presence of hydrocyanic acid content at certain percentage levels.
NCDEX POTATOFAQJUN12 20 June 2012
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