The Excise department will implement a track-and-trace system to ensure artificial toddy of dubious quality and provenance does not endanger public health.
For starts, the department will number and assign a code for coconut trees earmarked for tapping toddy. Moreover, it will install a tracking system for disseminating toddy from coconut plantations to 4,800 licenced outlets scattered across Kerala.
An official said the department would implement a farm-to-table policy for the toddy sector to make the natural beverage safe for human consumption and ensure that the fermentation remained within the legal limit.
The government will implement the pilot project in Chittoor in Palakkad. Officials said bootleg toddy posed a food security threat, especially during the run-up to Onam.
Officials said several delinquent elements in the toddy sector wrung huge profits by palming off “synthetic toddy” spiked with sedatives, saccharine, and illicit spirit as unadulterated coconut palm sap via licenced outlets, which often double as family restaurants serving “toddy-shop fare”.
Forensic chemical examinations have found that toddy samples often contained chloral hydrate, a sleep-inducing substance, illicit spirit, sulphated ash, and benzoic acid. Officials said there was no helpful rule of thumb for customers to prima facie distinguish between genuine and spurious toddy.
“Only a chemical examination could determine the ingredients and alcohol content. Artificial toddy resembles the natural substance in taste and smell. However, the level of intoxication might be higher than usual,” he said.
Bootleggers could manufacture artificial toddy at less than half the price of the genuine substance. The profit margin is enticingly steep, and the illegal business has spawned a mafia in the State.
The government chose Chittur to implement the project because it identified the locality in Palakkad as the hub of toddy production in the State. Chittur toddy is transported to various districts, except Kannur. The government issues licences to transport the Chittur produce. However, bootleggers often use the licences as a cover for injecting synthetic toddy into public consumption. The racket also thrived on official corruption centred on check-posts.
