Jadavpur University is experimenting with chilli paste in tubes that can have a shelf life of six to eight months

Madhumita Mookerji

Kolkata: Housewives in a hurry but with a taste for chillies in their curry may be in for a pleasant surprise. The Chemical Engineering Department of Jadavpur University is experimenting with chilli paste in tubes that can have a shelf life of six to eight months without preservatives.

Currently, the product is being tested in the laboratory and, four months have passed without the paste showing any signs of spoiling, say those involved in the research.

Professor Siddhartha Datta, pro Vice-Chancellor of the university, is confident that the experiment will come to a successful fruition, adding that the university will apply for a patent thereafter.

“This chilli paste is likely to have a good export market where chillies are not grown,” he said. The department has been striving for more than a year to invent herbal products like a natural soft drink extracted from betel leaves (paan), abir (gulal) made with flower extracts and, more recently, herbal candles, which have all been subsequently patented.

Most of its products are now being sold in West Bengal through non-governmental organisations and self-help groups which manufacture the products according to the specifications. Whatever royalty the department is earning is being ploughed back into research. But now industrial players are evincing interest in the formulation.

The university is upbeat on the national prospects of its paan drink, which has entered into a 10-year deal with Guidance Beverage which will manufacture and market the product. “Industrial production will start in about six months,” said Datta. “We have told the company not to share the technology with others for 10 years though they are free to sell the product in other states by appointing distributors,” added the professor.