Budget 2024: 100 NABL food testing labs, 100 street food hubs to be set up

New Delhi: The government will launch 100 accredited food testing laboratories across the country and an equal number of street food hubs, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman told Parliament.

“Setting up of 100 quality and safety food testing labs with NABL accreditation will be facilitated,” said Sitharaman, proposing a scheme to develop 100 weekly ‘haats’ or 100 street food hubs in select cities.

In India, the quality, safety and standards of the food products are regulated by the Food Safety Standard of India (FSSAI).

This includes strengthening the network of food testing laboratories around the country, assuring the quality of food testing, investing in human resources, carrying out surveillance activities and educating consumers.

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However, many foods and ingredients routinely fail safety and quality tests. 

In the recent past, authorities in Singapore and Hong Kong ordered some Indian spices taken off the shelves after they were found to have ethylene oxide above permissible levels, which can be toxic. 

In another case, Nestlé's popular baby food Cerelac, which is being sold in India was alleged to have added sugar in it compared with the same products being sold in developed countries.

As per data available with FSSAI, till 5 May, the regulator had 206 NABL accredited labs as primary food testing labs that are responsible for carrying out analysis of food samples collected under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.

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NABL stands for the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories.

“Setting up 100 more NABL-accredited food testing labs is definitely a good move. This will enhance our testing capabilities and give consumers confidence that they have safe and quality food. However, NABL labs could be private and government ones,” said Pawan Agarwal, chief executive of Food Future Foundation and former CEO of FSSAI.

Sitharaman also proposed financial support for setting up 50 multi-product food irradiation units in the MSME sector.