Satyajit Hange, Co-founder of Two Brothers Organic Farms As conversations around food safety evolve in India, the focus is shifting from broad organic claims to measurable, outcome-based verification. Consumers are…

Satyajit Hange, Co-founder of Two Brothers Organic Farms

As conversations around food safety evolve in India, the focus is shifting from broad organic claims to measurable, outcome-based verification. Consumers are increasingly asking not just how food is grown, but what ultimately reaches their plate. In this changing landscape, independently tested residue-free certifications are emerging as a new layer of transparency in traditional and organic food categories.

Satyajit Hange, Co-founder of Two Brothers Organic Farms, has been at the forefront of this shift. After pioneering India’s first independently verified glyphosate-residue-free ghee, the company has now extended this scrutiny to everyday staples such as atta, jaggery, and Amlaprash, products consumed daily across age groups and households.

In this interview with NUFFOODS Spectrum, Hange discusses why final-product residue testing matters, how certification from The Detox Project differs from conventional organic standards, and why transparency backed by verifiable data could redefine trust in India’s organic and natural foods sector.

After pioneering India’s first independently verified glyphosate-residue-free ghee, what motivated Two Brothers Organic Farms to extend this certification to everyday staples such as atta, jaggery, and Amlaprash?

Ghee was a natural starting point because it sits at the heart of Indian cooking and is closely associated with purity and health. However, the intention was always to extend this level of scrutiny across as many products as possible. From a farmer’s perspective, focusing on just one product would have been incomplete.

We prioritised staples like atta, jaggery, and amlaprash next because these are used daily in Indian households and consumed in far larger quantities. This is where cumulative exposure truly matters. Extending glyphosate-free verification to these categories was a deliberate step towards applying the same rigorous standard to everyday nutrition, not just occasionally.

Glyphosate residues remain an invisible concern for many Indian consumers. How important is independent residue testing in building transparency and trust in traditional and organic food categories?

One of the biggest challenges in food safety is that consumers cannot see or taste chemical residues. Trust has traditionally been built on heritage, claims, or certification logos rather than measurable outcomes. Independent residue testing with an organisation like The Detox Project, which operates one of the most stringent glyphosate residue testing programmes globally, changes that dynamic.

It introduces transparency into categories that are otherwise governed by belief. For traditional and organic foods, this is especially important because consumers often assume safety by default. Rigorous final-product testing does not weaken that trust; it strengthens it by backing cultural confidence with verifiable data.

DetoxProject certification involves testing the final consumable product with very low detection limits. How does this differ from conventional organic certification, and why is this final-product verification critical for food safety?

Conventional organic certification focuses primarily on agricultural practices and restricted inputs. While this is essential, it does not always account for environmental contamination, supply chain mixing, or post-harvest exposure. The Detox Project certification addresses this gap by testing the finished consumable product itself, using accredited laboratories and detection limits as low as 10 parts per billion (ppb).

Final-product verification matters because consumers eat outcomes, not processes. It ensures that regardless of intent or compliance at earlier stages, what reaches the plate meets a clearly defined safety benchmark, making food safety tangible rather than theoretical.

Atta, jaggery, and Amlaprash are consumed frequently across age groups. How do you see glyphosate-free verification influencing long-term health outcomes and everyday nutrition choices for Indian families?

When foods are consumed daily, even low-level exposure becomes relevant over time. Glyphosate-free verification introduces an exposure-based lens to nutrition, one that goes beyond calories or ingredients and looks at what the body accumulates quietly over years. For Indian families, especially those feeding children, the elderly, or individuals with chronic health concerns, this shifts decision-making from short-term nutrition to long-term wellbeing.

Over time, it encourages more mindful purchasing habits and normalises the idea that staples, often consumed unquestioningly, deserve the same safety scrutiny as packaged or processed foods. In many ways, it brings modern food safety thinking into the heart of traditional diets.

By voluntarily certifying multiple categories, Two Brothers Organic Farms is moving beyond compliance. Do you expect this to set a new benchmark for the Indian organic and natural foods industry?

We don’t see this as setting a benchmark as much as starting a necessary conversation. Voluntary certification signals that proof matters, particularly in categories that have relied on trust, tradition, or broad claims. Naturally, there will be resistance, especially in systems that are accustomed to process-led compliance rather than outcome-led verification. But transparency has a way of reshaping expectations. As consumers begin to ask sharper questions and understand the difference between intent and evidence, the industry will be nudged toward clearer, more measurable standards. If this contributes to that shift, it will have served its purpose.

With more products currently under testing, what can consumers and the industry expect next from Two Brothers Organic Farms in terms of clean-label expansion and residue-free commitments?

Our approach is deliberate rather than rapid. As farmers, we understand that consistency matters more than speed. Consumers can expect us to continue expanding residue testing across categories that form the core of everyday diets, while maintaining transparency around results and limitations. For the industry, the message is simple: clean labels must eventually be supported by clean outcomes. That is the direction we are committed to building toward, slowly, credibly, and with accountability.

Shraddha Warde

shraddha.warde@mmactiv.com