SUBHASH MISHRA
Ranchi, Feb 13: The National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) has granted accreditation to Jharkhand government’s lone Food Testing Lab, located in Namkum, allowing it to conduct legal food sample testing.
The NABL issued a notification confirming the lab’s recognition for a four-year period, from February 12, 2025, to February 11, 2029.
Legal Food Testing to Resume Across Jharkhand
Giving this information Food Analyst Chaturbhuj Meena stated that with the NABL accreditation restored, legal testing of food samples across the state will now resume. Food sample testing in Jharkhand had been stalled for nearly a year after the lab’s previous accreditation expired in April 2024. NABL had initially granted recognition in September 2022, but only for 22 months.
The suspension of legal food testing had affected the examination of suspected food samples from various districts, including those collected during the renowned Deoghar-Basukinath Shravani Mela. Without NABL accreditation, the lab was unable to conduct official testing, disrupting food safety measures across the state.
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Ensuring Food Safety Under National Standards
The Namkum-based lab operates under the guidelines of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, ensuring the availability of pure and unadulterated food for Jharkhand’s residents.
The lab first received NABL recognition in 2020 for a one-year period. Before that, Jharkhand relied on the Dhanbad-based Mineral Area Development Authority (MADA) lab for legal food testing. However, the MADA lab ceased operations due to the absence of a Food Analyst, leaving the state without a recognized facility.
Advanced Testing for a Wide Range of Food Products
According to Chaturbhuj Meena, one of the country’s senior-most Food Analysts, the Namkum Food Testing Lab is among the most advanced in India. It conducts testing on various food items, including oil, ghee, milk products, pulses, and rice distributed through the Public Distribution System (PDS). Additionally, the lab examines samples of pan masala, tea leaves, sugar, sweets, and other suspected adulterated items.
“Courts recognize the testing reports only from NABL-accredited labs across the country,” Meena said adding that “Now that the Namkum Testing Lab has received accreditation for four years, testing will speed up and would be conducted more efficiently, ensuring better food safety standards across Jharkhand.”
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