Facts about FTL in India

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has notified 224 food testing laboratories (including 53 state government laboratories, 145 private laboratories and 26 other government laboratories for primary testing and 20 laboratories for testing referral food samples) (as on July 29, 2022) FSSAI does not establish primary food testing labs but recognises and notifies labs based on voluntary applications. Further, FSSAI is implementing a Central Sector Scheme named “Strengthening of Food Testing System in the Country including provision of Mobile Food Testing Labs (SOFTEL) under which State Food Testing Laboratories (SFTLS) are provided funds for setting up lab with basic lab equipment, installation of high end equipment and establishing microbiology lab.

FSSAI has also provided grants to States for National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) accreditation, Certified Reference Materials, Consumables and for hiring contractual manpower. To extend the reach of basic testing facilities even in remote areas, FSSAI has sanctioned/provided 254 mobile food testing labs called Food Safety on Wheels (FSWS).

To upgrade Food Testing Laboratories (FTL) in India, the FSSAI in November 2016 announced a major scheme for strengthening of Food Testing Infrastructure in the country at an estimated cost of Rs 482-crore. The scheme focuses on all aspects of the food testing system including strengthening of state food labs and referral labs, capacity building of food analysts and other technical personnel engaged in the analysis of food (both within and outside the Government) and creation of mobile food labs across all States/uts. The Ministry of Food Processing Industries has released funds Rs 25.96 crore in 201920, Rs 23.32 crore in 2020-21 and Rs 34.43 crore in 2021-22 for food testing laboratories and generated a total of 1517 direct and indirect employment FTL projects since 2019.