Guwahati: The Indian tea industry, today faces significant challenges in meeting FSSAI standards for permissible levels of pesticides and chemicals. With government agencies ramping up monitoring and testing mechanisms, ensuring compliance has become a top priority.
However, a new AI-based rapid screening platform promises to revolutionise pesticide detection in green tea leaves, marking a significant leap forward for the Indian tea industry.
In a groundbreaking collaboration, the Tea Research Association (TRA) Tocklai, Kolkata, and Arogyam Medisoft Solution Pvt Ltd, a deep-tech digital life sciences company, have announced the successful completion of the first phase of validating ACLIVIA for Tea. ACLIVIA is the brand name of the product of Arogyam Medisoft Solution Pvt Ltd.
“Pesticide residue testing of green leaf before production is key to making the entire tea supply chain compliant. ACLIVIA for tea is a first of its kind for the global tea industry,” says Mr Joydeep Phukan, Secretary TRA.
A device which is no bigger than a book, weighing just 500 grams, can rapidly detect pesticide residues and other contaminants in just 2 to 30 minutes.
It is portable and easy to use but also smart and capable of transmitting data to a cloud-based server whenever it is connected to the internet. Configured to screen for various pesticides, including Monocrotophos, Fipronil, Cypermethrin, Acephate, Imidacloprid, and Acetamiprid, ACLIVIA is a first-of-its-kind innovation for the global tea industry.
Analytical performance of ACLIVIA has been studied on water and green tea leaf for rapid detection of Monocrotophos at TLabs, Tea Research Association, Kolkata. The results were compared with the results from LC-MS/GC-MS. The device is found to successfully determine (qualitatively) pesticide residue at 10 parts per billion.
The kit is now available for deployment at bought leaf factories, other manufacturing points and mobile testing vans.
“Rapid detection of pesticide residue in tea at the green leaf stage is the need of the hour to serve a safe cup of tea to esteemed consumers. ACLIVIA is a compact, user-friendly solution that will be invaluable in producing chemical-compliant teas,” said Atul Rastogi, CEO of Luxmi Tea Co.
The core biosensing technology was developed by an R&D group at the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) in Kolkata and transferred to Arogyam Medisoft for commercialization. C-DAC has expressed satisfaction with the successful trials and acknowledged the support from the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) and the C-SPARK initiative of C-DAC.
“Other kits are struggling to reach the regulatory limit for detection at 10 parts per billion level whereas this device can satisfactorily detect Monocrotophos up to 5 parts per billion in green tea leaves” Bappaditya Kanrar a scientist at Tea Research Association said.
The cost ranges from Rs 1.3 to 3.5 lakh based on the variant- single channel to multi-channel. For every analysis, the cost would be Rs 150.
“The launch of ACLIVIA marks a significant milestone in our commitment to enhancing food safety through innovative technology,” said Mr Partha Chakraborty, Chief Scientific Officer of Arogyam Medisoft Solution.
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“Our collaboration with TRA Tocklai, Luxmi Tea, and C-DAC has been instrumental in successfully validating ACLIVIA for Tea. We are proud to offer a solution that addresses the critical need for rapid pesticide residue detection and empowers tea growers and producers to safeguard their products and consumers effectively,” he said.
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