State Food Testing Lab To Function in Vizag After Delay of 11 Years

Visakhapatnam: Some 11 years after the 2014 bifurcation, residuary Andhra Pradesh is finally in a mood to operationalise the long-pending Visakhapatnam food testing laboratory.

The facility, inaugurated two years ago, has remained idle. The state food laboratory was set up at a cost of ₹4.77 crore and inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 25, 2024. Some ₹20 crore was spent on the construction and an additional ₹5 crore on equipment and chemicals. Despite these heavy investment, the lab has not functioned for even a single day.

The delay was exposed by a report by Deccan Chronicle in September. In response, the state government initiated corrective measures by issuing notifications to fill several sanctioned positions and commencing the recruitment process.

Officials say the laboratory would begin operations by January 2026, with equipment already installed and chemical procurement for testing under way.

According to senior officials, the laboratory would need to operate for six months to a year before it can undergo evaluation for the FSSAI (Food safety and standards authority) notification and NABL (National accreditation board for testing and calibration laboratories) accreditation.

These certifications are essential for the lab's test reports to be legally admissible in cases involving food adulteration and safety violations.

Momentum reportedly increased after Amit Sharma, director of quality assurance at FSSAI, visited the facility recently. He expressed concern over the prolonged inactivity and flagged additional issues, including the non-utilisation of a food safety awareness vehicle, which also remained idle for months.

In the absence of a functional state laboratory, Andhra Pradesh has relied on private laboratories or the Hyderabad state food laboratory for testing food samples collected during inspections and raids. Hyderabad has effectively served as the state’s primary testing centre for over a decade.

The dependence on private labs has also imposed financial burdens, with testing costs ranging from ₹10,000 to ₹15,000 per sample. Concerned officials allegedly showed little interest in making the facility operational. Allegations are also that a commission-raj prevailed in the outsourcing of the testing work with private labs.

According to FSSAI data, AP has only one state food laboratory, the non-functional Visakhapatnam facility, while four private labs operate within the state. This gap has been reflected in Andhra Pradesh’s performance on the state food safety index.

The food safety department is overall seen as a corrupt entity, which rarely takes action against errant public outlets. This immensely hurts the people’s health.