The government has made it a mandate that all food products should be tried and tested before launching in the market. 12 accredited laboratories have been chosen under various departments and universities for the Food Safety Department so that food quality can be tested within the stipulated time frame.
The services of these 12 lab would be available for all departments apart from the own labs that are situated in Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam, and Kozhikode.
More labs to check food quality
As per the Food Safety and Standards Act, NABL accredited labs that are notified by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) are allowed to analyze food samples. The newly appointed labs are under the Animal Husbandry Department at Maradu, as well as labs under the Kerala Veterinary University at Pookkode and Mannuthy, lab under the Fisheries University and Panangad, milk testing labs of the Dairy Development Department at Pattom and Alathur, the Council for Food Research and Development (CFRD) lab at Konni, and Pesticide Residues Testing lab at the Kerala Agricultural University. The food samples can also be tested in other labs recognized by the government and specified by the Food Safety Commissioner.
The testing of food samples would include quality testing of cooked as well as raw products, testing of fish, chicken, vegetables, curry powders, edible oils, fruits, and all other products. Microbiological evaluation of samples of cooked food could also be done in a periodical manner as per Health Minister V.S. Sivakuma while addressing a group of food safety officials across the state.
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