The State Public Health Laboratory has punched holes in Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal’s order to ban molasses (laligur) as it is not listed in the Food Safety Standards Act, 2006.

Sonowal had on Monday directed the chief secretary to ban molasses after investigations into the hooch tragedy, which killed 165 tea plantation workers and left several others blind and ill in three tea gardens of Upper Assam’s Jorhat and Golaghat districts, revealed the main ingredient in Sulai, a locally made liquor, to be molasses, a byproduct of sugar refining,

Though a gazette notification on the ban has not been issued, sources in the laboratory said enforcing the same might be a challenge as molasses is an illegal food item.

“Molasses is not listed in Section 3(1)(j) of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, which includes consumable food items. So, its sale, purchase, storage or consumption as a food item, directly or indirectly, is an illegal activity. There is no question of banning something that is already illegal,” an official at the laboratory told The Telegraph on condition of anonymity.

The act consolidates laws relating to food. Under it, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) was established for laying down science-based standards for articles of food and to regulate their manufacture, storage, distribution, sale and import, to ensure availability of safe and wholesome food for human consumption.

Anupam Gogoi, a food analyst in FSSAI, said molasses and liquid jaggery, both called laligur in Assam, are different.

“While liquid jaggery is the initial extract from sugarcane or dates (the two primary sources of jaggery in India), molasses is a byproduct, a waste left after the refined solid jaggery is extracted. The first is fit for human consumption but the other is mostly used for veterinary or industrial purposes,” Anupam said.

Molasses is distilled to produce ethanol, which is used in medical wipes and antibacterial hand sanitisers.

Akhil Gogoi, adviser to Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS), said molasses used to enter Assam from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar as veterinary supplies but the state government had recently allowed its procurement for industrial purposes with magisterial permission.

“In north India, cows are fed molasses during pregnancy but Assamese farmers generally use jaggery instead of the cheap substitute. After the government granted the magisterial permission, a few warehouses stored it as industrial ingredient but sold it illegally to small shops and those who made Sulai (hooch) from it,” Akhil said.

Jorhat-based trader Mahesh Beria was arrested from Jonai in Upper Assam’s Dhemaji district on Monday and two godown owners in Golaghat were detained on February 23 on charges of selling molasses.