The moa that comes wrapped in packets carrying a logo and claiming “GI (geographical indication)-tagged Joynagar Moa” may well not be the one that it should be.
An authentic GI-tagged Joynagar Moa has to be made of one particular variety — kanakchur — of khoi (popped rice), be of the right size and have the right mix of cardamom and khoya kheer.
With fakes in circulation across sweet shops, a committee of university professors, scientists and government officials will check some of the produce.
The team will examine different brands of moa that are being sold as “original GI-tagged Joynagar Moa”, check their composition, match with the specifications for GI-tagging and suggest corrective measures to manufacturers who have bagged the “authorised user certificate” and are found to have erred.
Joynagar Moa — a delicate winter speciality — had in November 2014 bagged the GI tag for its uniqueness that would be found in the moas produced in the two blocks of Joynagar in South 24-Parganas.
The committee members will interact with moa manufacturers and try to understand their difficulties in adhering to the norms to make the sweet meet the GI standards and offer technical knowhow for effective preservation.
“We will talk to some of the manufacturers and understand the challenges
they are facing. November isn’t as cold nowadays as it used to be and the quality of nolen gur (palm jaggery) is changing. So there is a need to change the processing parameters,” said Prasanta Biswas, of the department of food technology and biochemical engineering, Jadavpur University.
Biswas is part of the committee that has been set up at the behest of the Joynagar Moa Nirmankari Societyan umbrella organisation of moa manufacturers, to monitor the quality of the sweetmeat and ensure that it fulfils the GI criteria.
The committee includes professors from JU, Kalyani University, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya and a scientist from the Bureau of Indian Standards.
A Joynagar Moa should be between 50g and 75g in dry weight and must be made from kanakchur khoi. The moa must have at least seven ingredients — nolen gur, ghee, cardamom, khoya kheer, sugar, raisins and cashew nuts.
“The idea is not to penalise errant manufacturers, but to ensure that the GI-tagged moa adheres to the specifications,” Biswas said.
Close to 100 manufacturers in and around Joynagar have bagged the “authorised user certificate”.
“We saw that some of the manufacturers claiming to sell ‘GI-tagged Joynagar Moa’ were not adhering to the specifications. We want to address this issue,” said Ashok Kumar Kayal of Joynagar Moa Nirmankari Society.
