Tamil Nadu - Salem   

Sago producers' plea to industrial society

Staff Reporter

Demand to revise maximum permissible limit of hydrocyanic acid Demand to revise maximum permissible limit of hydrocyanic acid

SALEM: Starch and sago producers in Salem and neighbouring districts urged the Sagoserve, an industrial co-operative society, to revise the maximum permissible limit of hydrocyanic acid (HCN) fixed for sago.

Maximum limit

At a meeting organised by various starch and sago producers associations here on Sunday, the producers said that the Sagoserve fixed 1 ppm (parts per million) as the maximum limit of HCN for sago product in the end of 2003.

It was not permitting the producers to sell the product through the society, if the HCN presence exceeded the limit, said Attur Taluk Starch and Sago Producers Association president S. Duraisamy, who presided over the meeting.

But the Prevention of Food Adulteration (PFA) Rules stated that the maximum permissible level of HCN in any article of food was 5 ppm, he claimed.

Open market

The producers appealed to Sagoserve to follow the PFA rules and revise the maximum limit fixed for sago product.

"If the product was rejected at the Sagoserve due to the presence of HCN above 1 ppm, we had to sell it in the open market for a very low price," producers said.

Demonstrations

They had decided to stage demonstrations if the Sagoserve did not revise the rule regarding HCN limit.

Producers from various districts in the State and society attended the meeting.

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