Mobile food testing labs of AP falling short of purpose

Vijayawada:Mobile food testing labs – Food Safety on Wheels – meant to benefit people by testing mainly food and water free of cost, however, appear to lack food analysts, drivers and maintenance, defeating the very purpose they are expected to serve.

Andhra Pradesh government and Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) entered into an agreement to initially deploy five mobile food testing labs. They had been commissioned to check the quality of food and water, so that health of people could be safeguarded by avoiding adulterated or spoilt food and / or contaminated water.

Of the five mobile labs, one each had been allotted to Visakhapatnam, Tirupati and Kurnool. Authorities stationed two in Guntur, one of them allotted for Chief Minister’s use to check the quality of his food and water. The services of these labs came of good use during the recent Dasara festivities.

At present though, the condition of some of these labs is poor. They have no food analyst, driver or other essential staff.

Significantly, in the recent food poisoning case at Mogalrajapuram, a mobile food testing lab had to be pressed into service. Its staff realised the vehicle’s battery had got discharged. When staff members tried to claim warranty, they realised the battery would cost ₹10,000. When they thought they could claim warranty, they realised that the vehicle had not been registered with the road transport authorities. This resulted in the denial of claim under the warranty.

Incidentally, AP and FSSAI have entered into a memorandum of understanding to also start a full-fledged food laboratory in Visakhapatnam. Prime Minister Narendra Modi even inaugurated it virtually recently. It is not functioning as yet, because only 70–80 per cent of work on it has been completed. As a result, food samples collected in AP are being sent to the State Food Lab in Hyderabad for analysis. In some cases, samples had been sent to private food labs by paying ₹10,000–15,000 per sample.

Importantly, there are allegations that some officials are deliberately delaying the completion of the State Food Lab in Visakhapatnam for deriving financial benefits by sending the food samples to Hyderabad for analysis.

A senior officer from food safety said, “State government needs to pay attention to our department to curb corrupt practices and abuse of funds. Vacant posts need to be filled to ensure that all the required personnel are available to check food samples.”

Food safety joint controller N. Poornachandra Rao said, “We are going to start a State Food Lab in Vizag by March. Regional labs at Guntur, Tirupati and Tirumala will become operational by the end of 2025. Some works are getting delayed due to technical reasons. We will shortly fill 75 posts sanctioned in 2019 through APPSC to avoid any shortage of manpower.”