Gurgaon: MCG will set up lab to check food adulteration

The lab can assist the MCG in expanding their dedicated street food vending zones across the city. 

If you are suspicious of the quality of food or beverage being served and feel it is adulterated, you can soon find out the chemical and metallic contents of the item with the help of the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG).

The MCG will partner with a leading pharmaceutical company recommended by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to set up a food and water testing laboratory in Gurgaon.

Although the service will be open to public, from MCG’s perspective, the lab can assist in expanding and replicating their dedicated street food vending zones across the city.

“Once food and water served at the street vending zones are certified that they are within the permissible safety limit and do not include high content of metals or other harmful elements, the MCG is looking to expand the scope of the project to other parts of the city,” Vivek Kalia, joint commissioner of the MCG, said.

At the two street vending zones in sectors 38 and 4, the hawking zones offer snacks and beverages at nominal rates.

At each zone, 20 hawkers have set up stalls and serve a range of dishes, including paranthas, vegetarian dishes, maggi, bread and egg, hot and cold beverages, rajma chawal and kadhi chawal, costing between Rs 15 and Rs 70. The MCG has earmarked 31 areas where the zones can be replicated.

Kalia said the new lab will be accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Laboratories (NABL) and adhere to ISO guidelines.

Some of the technologically advanced instruments in the project will include high pressure liquid chromatography (used to separate, identify, and quantify each component in a mixture), ultra water purifying system (used to identify mineral content in liquids), and a dedicated microbiological department that will identify bacteria and microbes in an item.

The MCG said public can test their samples at nominal rates and results can be returned within a month. It is expected to open towards 2017-end, though the MCG is yet to finalise a location to establish the lab.