The production of Jawan rum, a popular brand of liquor produced by the State-owned Travancore Sugars and Chemicals Limited (TSCL), has once again landed in a crisis after a sample test confirmed the presence of sediments in the liquor blend.
Excise officials said the blend was certified not fit for human consumption during a sample test carried out at the Chemical Examiner’s Laboratory, Thiruvananthapuram. Following this, the department directed the factory unit to filter the blend and get the samples tested once again.
“The presence of sediments was identified in about 1.75 lakh litres of the blend, kept in three tanks inside the factory. It could be permitted for bottling only on completion of the due process,” said Venugopala Kurup, Deputy Commissioner of Excise, Pathanamathitta.
The issue, meanwhile, has further delayed the full-scale operation of the factory, which faced a temporary closure earlier this month following a spirit theft case.
Though the authorities brought in a qualified chemist from outside to resume operations and completed the bottling of its existing stock, the TSCL is yet to commence production of fresh liquor.
Production of the alcohol brand came to an abrupt halt after the police arraigned key officials of the company as accused in the spirit theft case. Prior to the disruption, the company used to produce about 54,000 litres of the rum on a daily basis.
