KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Tuesday directed the Travancore Devaswom Board to follow the report of the Commissioner of Food Safety on the production, packing and handling of the aravana and appam at Sabarimala temple. A Division Bench comprising Justice Thottathil B Radhakrishnan and C T Ravikumar passed the order while considering the report filed by the Commissionerate of Food Safety.The Joint Food Safety Commissioner had submitted that steps should be taken to conduct tests to ensure that the sugar content in the aravana is above 60 per cent and a permanent arrangement is made for a lab facility near the aravana plant. The court observed that the laboratory should be functional during the monthly poojas and the Mandalam Makaravilakku season. There shall be a complete regulatory measure in place regarding the procurement of materials, manufacture and packing of the aravana and appam.The Food Safety Commissioner also said that the existing system of packing aravana should be stopped. Instead it should be packed in tin cans which will ensure the maximum shelf life than that of paper cans. The manufacturing date and batch number should be printed on each can so that the first prepared aravana can be distributed on first-come-first-served basis, the report said.In the case of appam, to ensure more hygiene it would be better to install automatic packing machine, the Commissioner said. It would also help reduce manual involvement in the packing process.
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