Drive against stale food is full of legal loopholes
The drive against contaminated food under the new food safety regime is riddled with legal loopholes and handicapped by the lack of full-fledged, government-run, accredited laboratory to test the samples.
Results of tests done in laboratories not accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) would not stand scrutiny in a court of law, said N. Anandavalli, member, Technical Committee, National Food Safety and Standards Authority of India.
Private labs
She told The Hindu on Thursday that though there were a few accredited private sector laboratories in the State, there was a limit to the government using their services for works in the key area of food safety. However, work is on to get the government analytical laboratories in Kozhikode, Kochi, and Thiruvananthapuram accredited. But she said it was a difficult work, given the condition of the labs in Kochi and Kozhikode.
Dr. Anandavalli, a consultant to the State government and member of the accreditation committee of NABL, said it would take at least a year, if the government started in right earnest now, to get the labs working properly.
Director of the Council for Food Research and Development, Konni, M.K. Mukundan pointed to the inadequacy of state-of-the-art laboratory facilities in the State.
The CFRD could test food samples across the State if the government supported it financially. Carrying out tests, even the simple ones, was costly. The basic micro-biological analysis and analysis for chemical parameters would cost up to Rs.1,000 a sample.
Basic need
Dr. Mukundan pointed out the need to test samples at least from 10 per cent of the hotels and restaurants in the State to get a clear picture of the state of food safety.
Food samples collected from different parts were periodically tested at the Konni laboratory.
However, these were random efforts and more concerted efforts were needed to ensure that the food served in our restaurants was safe.
He said that the CFRD laboratory had recently added a chemical analysis section to its laboratory, which has accreditation from NABL for micro-biological analyses.
The accredited, government-owned labs in the State are the one in Vellayani, near Thiruvananthapuram, under the Kerala Agricultural University, which tests samples for pesticide residues.
Another is under the Central Institute of Fisheries Technology, a referral lab in the country and one of the best in South India.
Cashew Export Promotion Council’s laboratory in Kollam is one of the best and oldest in the State. Though the State government has enlisted the services of these laboratories, institutions under which they operate face a shortage of manpower.
Efforts on to get accreditation for 3 public labs
CFRD ready to test samples across Kerala
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