Coming out of a three-year break, the only food testing laboratory of the State is operating in full swing, claim the authorities, stating it has limited equipment. The Namkum-based food lab is limited to performing basic tests to ascertain the chemical composition of food samples, due to lack of machinery required for sophisticated tests.
“We can perform each and every chemical test on all sorts of food items, be it raw materials or finished products. But the equipment required for detecting microbiological bodies, toxicants, pesticide, antibiotic and veterinary residues is beyond our capabilities. We are in process of acquiring the required paraphernalia,” said Food Analyst of the lab, Jitendra Kumar Singh.
The facility was recently equipped with spectrophotometer, a piece of machinery helpful in test determining the ingredients and adulterants, if any, present in a food sample. However, systems for high-performance liquid chromatography, gas chromatography, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and more are yet to be acquired.
In absence of these technologies, samples for tests of toxicants like lead or arsenic, or the infamous Monosodium glutamate, have to be sent to designated facilities located outside the state.“There are 82 laboratories around India accredited by National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration laboratories where we send the samples for testing if unable to test them ourselves. The nearest one is in Kolkata,” Singh said.
The extended route food samples have to take for getting examined lead to delay in results. The food lab personnel say otherwise.“As per the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, by which this facility is governed, decrees that the test reports have to be submitted within 14 days and we are complying with these guidelines,” stated one technical personnel of the facility.
The food testing lab has processed 3,000 samples after restarting in September 2012, with effective steps being taken against the samples which failed the test, stated Singh.Apart from technology, the lab is also short on technical personnel. Eligible candidates for the posts of microbiologist, senior analyst and scientific officer are yet to be found and recruited. Out of the six technical personnel currently manning the lab, four have been hired on contract-basis and two are on deputation from Health Department.
“There are steps yet to be taken for regularising the technical workforce on contract-basis in food testing lab,” said Director-in-Chief (Food) Praveen Chandra.
Singh said, “We are doing what we can with what we have. Enhancing our capabilities and adding to our resources are a process we will be carrying over the course of time.”
