Two states of India (viz., Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram) and six Union Territories (viz., Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Ladakh and Lakshadweep) do not have state food testing laboratories (STFLs).

The laboratories in Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Odisha, Puducherry, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal are under network of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

The setting up of a SFTL is subject to availability of resources and feasibility.

A Central Sector Scheme for the strengthening of the food testing system in the country, including the provision of mobile food testing labs, has been rolled out by the country’s apex food regulator, with an outlay of Rs 481.95 crore, under which 42 state food laboratories would, inter alia, be upgraded (at least one in each state/Union Territory [UT] and two in larger states) with state-of-the-art analytical equipment, including the establishment of new food laboratories in the North-Eastern (N-E) states, subject to readiness of the state governments. 

So far, a total of 38 food laboratories of 29 states/UTs have been taken up for upgradation, and a total grant of Rs 280.19 crore has been released. 

This includes release of Rs 0.50 crore to the Regional Public Health Laboratory, Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.

FSSAI has a provision in its Central Sector Scheme to provide grant-in-aid for setting up of new food laboratories in the North-Eastern states, subject to the readiness of the state governments.

The regulator recognises and notifies primary food testing laboratories under Section 43 (1) of the Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act, 2006. 

It also recognises and notifies referral (appellate) labs under Section 43(2) of the said Act. 

At present, a total of 187 primary food testing labs and 18 referral labs have been notified under these Sections. 

In addition, there are 59 STFLs which are notified under the transition provisions under Section 98 of the FSS Act. 

FSSAI recognises and notifies only those food testing laboratories which are compliant with ISO 17025, which is an international standard for accreditation of testing laboratories.

For improvement in the quality of testing, FSSAI is strengthening state/UT food testing laboratories by upgrading them with three high-end equipment (viz., ICP-MS, GC-MSMS and LC-MSMS)/basic equipment and by setting up of microbiological laboratories. 

As stated in reply to Part (c), an amount of Rs 280.19 crore has been released so far for the purpose. 

This equipment would enable SFTLs to analyse quality and safety parameters, including pesticide residues, veterinary drug residues, contaminants, heavy metals, microbiological contamination in food products etc., and enable them to obtain accreditation from the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL).

Further, FSSAI, under its capacity building initiative, has conducted eight NABL awareness training programmes across the country for laboratory personnel/food analysts of SFTLs to acquaint them of the process of obtaining NABL accreditation.

This was stated by Ashwini Kumar Choubey, minister of state for health and family welfare, in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha recently.