Now, an AI kit to detect pesticide residue in tea leaves
Times of India | 16 July 2024
Kolkata: Tea Research Association (TRA) Tocklai, Kolkata has collaborated with Arogyam Medisoft Solution, a deep tech digital solution company in life sciences from Kolkata, for validation of ACLIVIA for Tea, an artificial intelligence-based rapid screening platform for detection of pesticide residue in green tea leaves.
The first phase of the validation exercise was completed on Sunday.
According to its makers, this innovative technology is a significant breakthrough for the Indian tea industry, which has been grappling with the challenge of ensuring compliance with FSSAI standards for permissible levels of pesticides and chemicals. This has led to stringent monitoring and testing mechanisms being enforced by govt agencies.
The trial for a cent percent dust auction is one such initiative aimed at ensuring compliance across the tea supply chain.
“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,” said TRA secretary Joydeep Phukan.
“Rapid detection of pesticide residue in tea at green leaf stage is the need of the hour to serve safe cups of tea to esteemed consumers,” said Atul Rastogi, CEO of Luxmi Tea Co.
The core biosensing technology has been developed by an R&D group of Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) at its Kolkata centre and transferred to Arogyam for commercialisation.
“The launch marks a significant milestone in our commitment to enhancing food safety through innovative technology,” said Partha Chakraborty, chief scientific officer, Arogyam.