Lok Sabha Question No. 332 (STARRED), answered on 2017-03-24
Subject: Food Testing Laboratories
Ministry: HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE
Asked by: B.V. NAYAK

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 332 TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 24 TH MARCH, 2017

## FOOD TESTING LABORAT ORIES

## *332. SHRI B.V. NAIK:

Will the Minister of HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE be pleased to state:

- (a) the number of food testing laboratories in the country, State - wise;
- (b) the details of schemes under implementation along with funds sanctioned and expenditure incurred on such laboratories during each of the lasthree years and the current year, State/UTwise;
- (c)  the  steps  taken  or  being  taken  by the  Government  to  set  up  food  testing laboratories equipped with modern facilities in every district in the country in order to check food adulteration; and
- (d)whether the Government proposes to encourage the unemployed youth to set up such labs and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE ( SHRI JAGAT PRAKASH NADDA )

(a)to(d) : A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

## STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 332* FOR 24 TH MARCH, 2017

(a) : Presently,  213 Food Testing Laboratories have been authorised by Food Safety and  Standards  Authority  of  India for  testing  food  products  as  per  details at Annexure.

(b) & (c): A Central Sector Scheme for 'Strengthening of Food Testing System in the Country including provision of Mobile Food Testing Labs' with a total outlay of Rs. 481.95 Crore to be implemented during 2016-17 to 2018-19, has been approved by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in September, 2016. The components of the Scheme  include: (i) Strengthening of State Food Testing labs; (ii) Strengthening of Referral Food Testing Labs; (iii)  Support for Mobile Food labs; (iv) Capacity Building of Food    Testing Laboratories; (v) Incentivising States to utilise the  facilities  available  in Food  Safety  and  Standards  Authority  of  India  (FSSAI) Notified Labs; (vi) School Food & Hygiene Programme; and vii) creation of new food testing  labs  in  Arunachal  Pradesh,  Manipur,  Mizoram  and  Sikkim. Details  of  funds sanctioned and expenditure incurred under the aforesaid Scheme, are as under:-

- ii) Fifty  Lakh each has  been  approved  for  the  State  Food  laboratories  of Delhi, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal towards creation/renovation of infrastructure; and
- i) Four  Crore  each  have  been  approved  as  mobilization  advance  for  upgradation of State Food laboratories  of Punjab, Kerala & Assam;
- iii) Four  Crore  have  been  released  to  one  referral  lab  viz., Central  Food Technological  Research  Institute,  Mysore,  for  procurement  of  two  major equipment.

Besides,  funds  are  also  provided  by  the Ministry  of  Food  Processing  Industries under the Scheme for Quality Assurance to provide financial assistance for setting up/ upgradation  of  Food  Testing  labs  with  major  objectives  of  establishing  a surveillance  system for  monitoring  the  quality  and  composition  of  food,  to  analyse the samples received from processing industry and other stakeholders and to ensure compliance of international and domestic standards on food in case of exports as well as imports.

(d): No such proposal is under consideration in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

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## State-wise details of 213 Food Testing Laboratories in the country under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 and Rules/ Regulation, 2011 thereunder

| Sr. No.   | State/UT                  | Number of State/ Public Food Laboratories   | Number of Referral Food Labs*   | Number of NABL Accredited Private Labs notified by FSSAI   |
|-----------|---------------------------|---------------------------------------------|---------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------|
| 1.        | Andaman & Nicobar Islands | 1                                           | -                               | -                                                          |
| 2.        | Andhra Pradesh            | 1                                           | 1                               | 1                                                          |
| 3.        | Assam                     | 1                                           | -                               | -                                                          |
| 4.        | Bihar                     | 1                                           | -                               | -                                                          |
| 5.        | Chhattisgarh              | 1                                           | -                               | -                                                          |
| 6.        | Daman & Diu               | -                                           | -                               | 1                                                          |
| 7.        | GNCT of Delhi             | 1                                           | -                               | 15                                                         |
| 8.        | Goa                       | 1                                           | -                               | 1                                                          |
| 9.        | Gujarat                   | 6                                           | 1                               | 7                                                          |
| 10.       | Haryana                   | 2                                           | -                               | 12                                                         |
| 11.       | Himachal Pradesh          | 1                                           | -                               | 1                                                          |
| 12.       | Jammu & Kashmir           | 2                                           | 1                               | -                                                          |
| 13.       | Jharkhand                 | 1                                           | -                               | -                                                          |
| 14.       | Karnataka                 | 4                                           | 2                               | 11                                                         |
| 15.       | Kerala                    | 3                                           | 2                               | 7                                                          |
| 16.       | Madhya Pradesh            | 3                                           | -                               | 5                                                          |
| 17.       | Maharashtra               | 11                                          | 2                               | 20                                                         |
| 18.       | Meghalaya                 | 1                                           | -                               | -                                                          |
| 19.       | Nagaland                  | 1                                           | -                               | -                                                          |
| 20.       | Odisha                    | 1                                           | -                               | 1                                                          |
| 21.       | Puducherry                | 1                                           | -                               | -                                                          |
| 22.       | Punjab                    | 3                                           | -                               | 3                                                          |
| 23.       | Rajasthan                 | 8                                           | -                               | 5                                                          |
| 24.       | Tamil Nadu                | 7                                           | 2                               | 16                                                         |
| 25.       | Telangana                 | 1                                           | 2                               | 6                                                          |
| 26.       | Tripura                   | 1                                           | -                               | -                                                          |
| 27.       | Uttar Pradesh             | 3                                           | 2                               | 7                                                          |
| 28.       | Uttarakhand               | -                                           | -                               | 1                                                          |
| 29.       | West Bengal               | 5                                           | 1                               | 5                                                          |
|           | Total                     | 72                                          | 16                              | 125                                                        |

*The Referral Food Laboratories work as appellate laboratories for the purpose of analysis  of  appeal  samples  of  food  lifted  by  the  Food  Safety  Officers  of  the State/UTs and local bodies and the imported food samples.

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