4 Bengali sweets to come into possession of GI tag

In order to protect the traditional sweets from imitations and for exporting them in future, the West Bengal government is all set to get Geographical Identification (GI) tag for its four traditional sweets.

• It has been announced during the “Mishti Mela” (sweet fair) in Malda district of West Bengal.
• The sweets include “Moa” of Jainagar, “Sarpuria” of Krishnagar and “Sitabhog” and “Mihidana” of Burdwan.

About selected traditional sweets:

• Jainagar in South 24 Parganas district is famous for “Jainagar-er moa” which is made of puffed rice and date palm jaggery.
• Krishnagar of Nadia district is famous for “Sarpuria” which is made of milk cream.
• “Sitabhog” and “Mihidana” are rice based sweets of Burdwan.

What is GI tag?
A GI tag is a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities that are due to that origin.

• GI tag is necessary for these items to protect them from cheap imitations. It will also help preserve quality.

Other Highlights of Mishti Mela:

• Nine districts of the state participated in the two-day sweet.
• Focus had been made on the usage of machines instead of hands in sweet making in order to increase production and maintain quality.
• Machines for sweet making and their packaging were displayed at the fair as Bengali sweets are made of “chhana” which has less shelf life as compared to those made of “kheer” or coconut in other parts of the country.

Keys Bengal
CM – Mamata Banerjee
Governor – Keshari Nath Tripathi