India, along with Bangladesh, is one of the biggest producers of jute products in the world. Leading growers of cocoa and coffee like Cote'd Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Brazil, Columbia and Uganda were big markets of jute bags till some Swiss scientists put a question mark on their suitability for packaging food.

Being prime ingredients of the confectionery industry, cocoa and coffee were being packed in jute bags till the nineties. But 1991 brought some disconcerting news for the industry, courtesy a Swiss laboratory. A Zurich-based scientist ascertained that the cocoa and coffee beans packaged in jute bags contained hydrocarbon contamination beyond desired limits.

Soon, this became a matter of grave concern in Europe and the United States.The confectionery industry, the major user of cocoa and coffee, regarded this phenomenon as unacceptable. ``This contamination was traced to the use of mineral oil in the jute batching process, which lubricates the fabric.

Therefore, a suitable alternative lubricant for the fibre had to be identified. More so, considering the fact the European markets barred the manufacture of jute products containing hydrocarbon beyond a certain limit, the challenge before the Indian industry was to find a non-toxic, non-hydrocarbon lubricant, which won't compromise on spinning quality either,'' recalls Suthirtha Bhattacharya, secretary, Jute Manufacturers Development Council (JMDC).

For the uninitiated jute has to be processed after it is cut from the fields, before it can become a textile fibre. Before the machine can manufacture the jute yarn, the fibre has to be softened. This softening process needs a treatment media called batching oil. Conventionally, batching oil was being used as a processing lubricator forjute.

In 1991, when experiments on chocolates found some traces of hydrocarbon in the samples, it created a furore. Obviously, the presence of toxins beyond acceptable limits was bad for health. ``But initially, everybody was clueless about the origins of the toxins. Investigations were made on coffee and cocoa beans, which are the main constituents. Later, it was discovered that they came in by trans-migration from the jute packages. Further investigations by the Swiss scientists zeroed in on the batching oil, since it is a mineral oil containing hydrocarbons.

This was followed by a long process of introspection and discussion by the major players of the jute industry in the Indian subcontinent. The Calcutta based JMDC and the Dhaka-based International Jute Organisation (IJO) put their heads together to try and develop a non-hydrocarbon lubricant to soften the jute fibre. The other criterion which the oil had to fulfill was facilitating the spinning efficiency of the yarn.

They decided to approach theIndian Jute Industries Research Organisation (IJIRA) to allow them to use Rice Bran Oil (RBO). India is one of the biggest producers of rice. So, RBO is available in abundance. It also suits the spinning requirements. In fact, it resulted in better spinning. IJIRA, which holds the patent for the oil was persuaded to enter into a licensing agreement to provide an alternative meeting the international requirements.

``We took a delegation to the European markets and presented before them the response to their concerns. We wanted to demonstrate the developments made in the product in accordance with international norms,'' says Bhattacharya.Global debate on this issue led to a resolution on international standard specifications for jute bags used to pack cocoa beans, coffee beans and shelled nuts. A workshop was organised in Calcutta by the IJC in February 1998 to formulate the international standard for food grade jute bags. This was ratified by the International Cocoa Organisation in May 1998.

RBO, the newlubricant, does not add to costs by itself. But establishing a hydro-carbon free environment means isolating the machine and the production line from the production area. ``That adds to the cost by Rs 3,000 per ton, but the product is superior. The oil content value does not really vary, besides producing better spinning,'' says Bhattacharya.

The council is aiming to promote jute as an eco-friendly packaging material, especially in light of the ban on polybags. ``We have held consultation with the Himachal Pradesh government, which has already banned them. Polybags are cheap but come at a high environmental cost. Being bio-degradable, jute bags are a greener solution. They should not be littered, but even if it is done, they decompose very quickly, posing no danger of severe blockades.'' reasons Bhattacharya.

Criteria for food grade jute bags

The lubricant: The ingredients used as batching oils shall be non toxic and approved for use in packaging materials that will come in contact withfood materials. Batching oils shall not contain compounds that could produce off-flavours or off-tastes in food materials packed in jute bags. RBO II satisfies this criteria.

The bag: It satisfies the International Jute Organisation chemical criteria. They stipulate that the unsaponifiable compounds shall be less than 1250 mg/kg. The recommended methods shall follow British Standard 3845: 1990 on methods for the determination of added oil content of jute yarn, rove and fabric. Subsequent saponification (the hydrolysis of an ester by an alkali) shall be done according to the methodology described in WG 1/90 of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC).