FDA purchases Rs 70 lakh new modern equipment and machines for food testing

The Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) was testing food and drugs samples with decades old equipments and machines for the last several years. But, now it will test with new equipments and machines. Besides, the new machines and equipments will give quick results and the adulterators might not be spared of the Government trap. Every month more than 200 samples are collected at the city FDA Central Food Testing Lab and due to ages old equipments and machines, the testing results were not perfect and were many times challenged by the traders and even most traders won legal cases against them by the FDA officers.

“When the new food safety law was enacted in the country, the Government of India had directed to all FDAs in states to be well equipped to tighten noose over the adulterators. So it is mandatory to have proper field and lab staff besides the machines and equipments with its update version, said a senior officer in FDA.

Sources said however, the new testing equipments and machines were purchased but the FDA has shortage of technical staff due to which it finds shortage of technicians to operate these equipments. Nobody knows when the FDA will get about 100 food and drugs inspectors and technical staff to test foods and drugs samples at the Central Lab.

In another food and drugs testing labs of the FDA, the equipments and machines are too old, when the technicians many times test a sample, then they can get result near to perfection but not perfect. Staff crunch is another problems in Indore and other cities. So most samples are sent by the district FDA officers to State Capital’s Central Food and Drugs Testing lab and they are piles of food and drugs samples collected by the Food Safety Officers. On the other hand, the food safety officers, its lower staff and technical staff are also retiring every year, creating more vacancies in the Food and Drugs Administration.

It is learnt that, FDA officers are understood to have planned to purchase modern food and drugs testing equipments and machines to its other districts labs also. The technical staff and food inspectors will be for all districts, particularly where there are only one are two food safety officers and more food and drugs shops.

When contacted Pramod Shukla, Joint Controller, Foods and Drugs Controller, said modern equipments and machines to test food and drugs samples costing Rs 70 lakhs were purchased. It gives fast and perfect results. We will soon recruit food inspectors and technical staff for lab, he said.