Lok Sabha Question No. 3136 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-12-06
Subject: Food Testing Laboratories
Ministry: HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE
Asked by: Saikia Dilip, Ramesh Chander Kaushik

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

LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3136 TO BE ANSWERED ON 6 TH DECEMBER, 2019

## FOOD TESTING LABORAT ORIES

## 3136. SHRI DILIP SAIKIA:

## SHRI RAMESH CHANDER KAUSHIK:

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

- (a) the details of laboratories to test food samples in the country, State/ UT - wise;
- (b) whether there is lack of food testing laboratories and adequate modern equipment to tes t food samples in the country and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether there is lack of uniformity in test standards which lead to contradiction in test results; and
- (d) if so, whether the Government has formulated any action plan to deal with this situation?

## ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE

(SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY)

- (a): Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) at present has a network o laboratories  across  the  country  comprising  of  244 laboratories  for  primary  testing  and  18 laboratories for appellate (referral) testing recognized & notified under sections 4 43(2) of Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 respectively. The category -wise composition of these  laboratories  is  as be low-

| (a)   | Primary Food Testing laboratories              | Primary Food Testing laboratories              |
|-------|------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------|
|       | State Food laboratories                        | 13                                             |
|       | Central Government institutes/autonomous       | bodies 21                                      |
|       | Private laboratories                           | 149                                            |
|       | State Government laboratories under transition | provision* 61                                  |
|       | Total                                          | 244                                            |
| (b)   | Appellate (Referral) Food Testing laboratories | Appellate (Referral) Food Testing laboratories |
|       | Central Government institutes/autonomous       | bodies 16                                      |
|       | FSSAI's own laboratories                       | 02                                             |
|       | Total                                          | 18                                             |
|       | Grand Total                                    | 262                                            |

(*brought from the PFA regime; working under the transition provision of section 98 of Safety and Standards Act 2006). State/UT - wise number of these laboratories is Annexed .

(b): No. At present, the country has adequate number of food testing laboratories. Insofar as State Food Testing Laboratories are concerned, FSSAI is implementing a Central Se Scheme for  ' Strengthening of Food Testing System in the Country including Provision Mobile Food Testing Labs ' with an outlay of Rs. 481.95 cro re. Further, most of the private laboratories have adequate modern equipment to conduct various kinds of tests for che the food samples.

(c) to (d): Food  Safety  and  Standards  Authority  of  India  has  prescribed  the  testi methods in its 14 FSSAI Man uals of Methods of Analysis for testing of food products as pe standards for food products prescribed  under various regulations of FSSAI. In addit these Manuals, several other methods on need basis have also been developed from time time.

## State- wise number of food testing laboratories in the country

| S. No.   | State/UT                                | Food Testing labs notified under Section 43(1)_ of FSS Act, 2006   | Food Testing labs notified under Section 43(1)_ of FSS Act, 2006   | Food Testing labs notified under Section 43(1)_ of FSS Act, 2006   | State Food Laboratories under Transition phase   | Referral Laboratories notified under 43(2) of FSS Act, 2006   |
|----------|-----------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------|
| S. No.   | State/UT                                | Government                                                         | Government                                                         | Private                                                            |                                                  | Section                                                       |
| S. No.   | State/UT                                | State                                                              | Other Institutions                                                 | Private                                                            |                                                  | Section                                                       |
| 1        | Andaman &Nicobar Islands Andhra Pradesh | -                                                                  | 1                                                                  | -                                                                  | -                                                | -                                                             |
| 2 3      | Assam                                   |                                                                    | -                                                                  | 5 -                                                                | 1 1                                              | 1 -                                                           |
|          |                                         | -                                                                  | -                                                                  | -                                                                  | 1                                                | -                                                             |
|          |                                         | - - -                                                              | -                                                                  | -                                                                  | 1                                                | -                                                             |
| 4        | Bihar                                   | -                                                                  |                                                                    |                                                                    |                                                  |                                                               |
| 5        | Chhattisgarh                            | -                                                                  |                                                                    |                                                                    |                                                  |                                                               |
| 6 7      | Daman& Diu GNCT of Delhi Goa            | -                                                                  | - - -                                                              | 1 20                                                               | - 1 1                                            | - - -                                                         |
|          |                                         | 4                                                                  | -                                                                  |                                                                    | 1                                                |                                                               |
| 8 9      |                                         |                                                                    |                                                                    | 1 10 14                                                            |                                                  | 1                                                             |
| 10 11    | Gujarat                                 |                                                                    |                                                                    |                                                                    |                                                  |                                                               |
| 12       | Haryana Himachal Pradesh Jammu &Kashmir | - - -                                                              | - - 1                                                              | 1 -                                                                | 2 1 2                                            | -                                                             |
|          | Jharkhand                               |                                                                    | -                                                                  |                                                                    | 1                                                | - - -                                                         |
|          | Karnataka                               |                                                                    |                                                                    |                                                                    |                                                  | 2                                                             |
| 13       |                                         | -                                                                  | -                                                                  | 1 13 7                                                             | 5                                                |                                                               |
| 14 15 16 |                                         | - 3 -                                                              |                                                                    | 8                                                                  |                                                  |                                                               |
|          | Kerala Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra       | 2                                                                  | 6 - 2                                                              |                                                                    | -                                                | 2                                                             |
|          |                                         | -                                                                  |                                                                    | 25 -                                                               | 1 15                                             | -                                                             |
| 17 18    |                                         |                                                                    |                                                                    |                                                                    | 1 1                                              | 3 - -                                                         |
|          | Manipur Meghalaya                       | -                                                                  | - - -                                                              | - -                                                                |                                                  |                                                               |
| 19 20 21 | Nagaland                                |                                                                    |                                                                    |                                                                    | 1 1                                              |                                                               |
|          |                                         | -                                                                  |                                                                    | 1                                                                  |                                                  | -                                                             |
| 22 23    | Odisha Puducherry Punjab                | -                                                                  | -                                                                  |                                                                    |                                                  | - - 1                                                         |
|          |                                         | - - -                                                              | - 1                                                                | -                                                                  | 1                                                |                                                               |
|          | Rajasthan Sikkim                        |                                                                    |                                                                    | 2                                                                  | 1                                                |                                                               |
| 24 25 26 |                                         | - -                                                                | 1 - 1                                                              | 5                                                                  | 8 1 6                                            | - - 2                                                         |
|          | Nadu                                    |                                                                    | -                                                                  | - 17                                                               | -                                                |                                                               |
|          | Tamil Telangana                         |                                                                    |                                                                    |                                                                    |                                                  |                                                               |
| 27 28 29 |                                         | 1 - 2                                                              |                                                                    | 9                                                                  | 1 4                                              | 3 - 2                                                         |
| 30       | Tripura Uttar Pradesh Uttarakhand       | -                                                                  | 1 3 -                                                              | - 4 1                                                              | 1                                                | -                                                             |
|          |                                         |                                                                    |                                                                    | 4                                                                  |                                                  |                                                               |
| 31       | West Bengal                             | 1                                                                  | 4                                                                  |                                                                    | -                                                | 1                                                             |
|          | Total                                   | 13                                                                 | 21                                                                 | 149                                                                | 61                                               | 18                                                            |

Source: States/UTs.