Sweetmeat makers plan quality lab

The sweet, or 'mishthi', industry of West Bengal has sought land from the state government to build a state-of-the-art laboratory to improve and maintain the quality of products sold and exported from the state.

"We want to build a lab which will facilitate quality control of products. Also it would help us in devising modern method of packaging to lengthen the shelf life of the product, critically important for tapping the export market," a spokesperson of Paschimbanga Mistanna Byabsayee Samity (PMBS), the apex body for sweet makers, said.

PMBS has requested for a 10 cottah land as donation, which will house a convention centre, guest rooms for delegates apart from a lab.

It has over one lakh members who would chip in with money for the facility.

The state minister for animal husbandry Anisur Rehman is believed to have assured the industry to look into the matter. Rehman attended a national workshop on mechanisation and packaging organised by PMBS on Monday along with academicians conducting research in food technology, government officials and representative from the Indian Institute of Packaging (IIP).

Even though the industry has a turnover of nearly Rs 30,000 crore annually, there is no single large player in the sector. The overwhelming number of small units in the industry still use primitive methods of manufacturing and packaging.

Since most PMBS members are single shop owners and unable to invest in research and development for mechanisation and improved packaging, the lab will fulfil the need of a common facility centre.