Sep 28, 2020
FSSAI has pursued proposals installing two National Food Laboratories (NFLs) in Chennai as well as Mumbai. At present FSSAI has two NFLs, one for Northern India in Ghaziabad (NCR) and second at Kolkata for Eastern India.
According to an FSSAI official, the apex food regulator proposes to build two more NFLs, in south it will be Chennai and for west it will be Mumbai. Hence, provision for molecular biology testing would also be made available in these labs keeping in view future requirement of GMO testing in food products.
Further add-ons are that FSSAI will set up the labs in Chennai at Chennai Port Trust (CPT), and at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) in Mumbai. These exclusive labs will systemize on PPP mode (public-private partnership).
In an analysis-based data, monthly average of import related samples at these ports were more than 700 samples for CPT and more than 3,000 for JNPT during 2019-20. FSSAI emphasized that the laboratories to be set up should have the competency and capability for testing of quality and check safety parameter in all food products as per Food Safety and Standards Regulations (FSSR) with accreditation as per ISO 17025:2017 by National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL).
The food products imported through these ports include vegetables, fruits, dairy products, cereals, beverages, tea, coffee, confectionery, cocoa, sugar, nuts, meat, fish, spices, oil, essential oils, preparations of cereals flour starch or milk, sugar, modified starches, enzymes, vegetable extracts, and oil seeds.
In the last three years, in Chennai port, nearly 20,753 samples were tested while in Mumbai around 94,219 samples of food products were sent for testing.
It is relevant to refer here that in the performance audit report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee and the CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General) of India, questions have been raised regarding gaps in food lab infrastructure in India. Later, the Union Health Ministry had assigned FSSAI to implement a Central sector scheme of upgrading the lab infrastructure working in the states as well as emphasized to establish its own labs across the country. The FSSAI’s lab in Ghaziabad is systemized on PPP mode, Kolkata lab is owned fully by the apex food regulator and functioning of these labs will in Mumbai and Chennai, too shall be functioning on PPP approach.