Sikkim’s Dalle Khursani chilly gets GI tag

Dalle Khursani, Sikkim’s famous red hot cherry pepper has earned a geographical indication tag from the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade. Sikkim’s Dalle Khursani has range of 1,00,000 to 3,50,000 SHU (Scoville Heat Units).

Famous Naga Bhut Jolokia pepper popular in Manipur and Nagaland has SHU of  855,000 to 1,050,000. SHU is a measurement of spiciness and heat of chillies.

GI tag is a name or a sign given to a certain product that has a specific geographical location or origin. Sikkim’s Dalle Khursani was given a GI tag on the basis of an application filed by the North Eastern Regional Agricultural Marketing Corporation Limited in Guwahati.

Wilbur Scoville, a pharmacist in 1912 developed a system for measuring the level of heat in peppers and other spicy peppers by measuring them in Scoville Heat Units, a.k.a. SHU, or the concentration of capsaicin found within them.