India launches first accreditation scheme for mobile food testing laboratories
New Delhi, August 10
India has launched its first accreditation scheme for mobile food testing laboratories, aimed at taking quality-assured food testing services closer to communities and strengthening food safety surveillance, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said on Monday.
The National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL), a constituent board of the Quality Council of India (QCI), launched the scheme under its Integrated Assessment Programme at the 'Gunvatta Samanvaya - A Multilateral MoU Exchange Ceremony' in New Delhi.
The first-of-its-kind accreditation scheme establishes a framework for mobile food testing laboratories to provide reliable, quality-assured and internationally benchmarked testing services closer to communities.
By extending accredited food testing beyond conventional laboratory settings, the initiative is expected to improve access to quality testing and support faster regulatory intervention in cases involving food safety.
According to the Commerce Ministry, the scheme is expected to "strengthen food safety surveillance" and "enhance consumer confidence" while improving access to testing services.
The event also saw a multilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) exchange among participating organisations aimed at improving coordination between regulatory and quality assessment bodies.
The initiative seeks to "reduce duplication in assessment processes" and "promote mutual recognition", while improving regulatory efficiency and facilitating ease of doing business, the ministry said.
Addressing the gathering, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) Secretary Amardeep Singh Bhatia stressed the importance of embedding quality across the entire value chain.
Bhatia said initiatives such as 'Gunvatta Samanvaya' would contribute to India's growth journey towards 2047 by promoting quality-led practices.
NABL Chairperson Dr Sandip Shah highlighted the significance of the new accreditation scheme and the Integrated Assessment Framework, stressing the role of collaborative assessment processes and credible institutions in supporting India's development.
Quality Council of India Secretary General Chakravarthy T Kannan also emphasised the importance of collaboration, convergence and mutual trust in building a strong quality ecosystem.
He said the 'Gunvatta Samanvaya' initiative and the accreditation scheme for mobile food testing laboratories would help strengthen India's quality infrastructure and take quality-assured testing services closer to communities.
Senior officials from QCI, NABL, regulatory authorities and commodity boards associated with the Integrated Assessment Framework attended the event.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Good initiative, but the real challenge will be implementation on the ground. Will these mobile labs reach rural areas regularly? Will there be enough trained staff? Hope the government follows through with proper resources and doesn't just make this another paper scheme.
This is a step in the right direction for sure! As someone who's always worried about the milk and vegetables we buy, having accredited mobile testing labs nearby gives me more confidence. Kudos to NABL and QCI for thinking about grassroots-level impact. 🌟
Impressive move, but we need to be realistic. The food industry is massive and the supply chain is complex. While mobile labs are great for spot checks, we also need stricter penalties for those who are caught adulterating food. Prevention is better than cure, after all.
Very good initiative! This will especially help street food vendors and small businesses who want to prove their food is safe but couldn't afford traditional lab testing. The 'Gunvatta Samanvaya' concept of bringing multiple agencies together is smart. Quality should indeed be a culture, not just a checklist.
Hope this isn't just another urban-focused scheme. Please ensure these mobile labs also cover tier-2 and tier-3 cities and villages where adulteration is rampant. We need 'ease of testing' just as much as 'ease of doing business'. 🙏
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.