Crores spent, food testing lab still weak

Srinagar, May 11: Sophisticated instruments procured at significant public expense under a central scheme to strengthen food safety in J&K has been reported non-functional or severely underutilized for years.

The non-utility of like GC-MS/MS and LC-MS/MS at the food testing labs of Jammu and Kashmir is raising serious concerns about wasted investment and compromised food safety monitoring.

In 2017, the state food testing laboratories were strengthened under FSSAI’s Strengthening of Food Testing System (SOFTeL) scheme. The State Food Testing Laboratory (SFTL) were eligible for approximately Rs 10 to Rs 13.90 crore.

This included Rs 8.45 crore for procurement of three major instruments: LC-MS/MS, GC-MS/MS, and ICP-MS.

In addition to the highend equipment, Rs 50 lakh were available for upgradrading of infrastructure.

In J&K, the scheme applied to the Public Health Laboratory, Patoli, Jammu and the Public Health Lab, Dalgate, Srinagar.

The FSSAI status reports from 2018-2022 show releases of initial grants,  Rs 50 lakh for renovation and Rs 5 crore to Rs 5.50 crore tranches.

The purchase orders were issued and installation completed the following year.

These high end equipment were the exact answer to the food safety concerns in J&K – critical for trace-level detection of pesticide residues, mycotoxins, antibiotic and veterinary drug residues, heavy metals and food adulterants.

Given the rising burden of cancer, and food additives in unacceptable quantities being discovered often, a robust, local testing for the range of concerns could have helped in better monitoring of food market.

However, operational challenges have left much to desire from these labs.

The FSSAI’s 2019 Metastudy on Food Testing Laboratories in India highlighted systemic issues across state labs – the high costs of Annual Maintenance Contracts (AMCs) for imported equipment and shortage of trained manpower being the major hurdles.

In J&K specifically, the issue is compounded due to shortage of ‘any manpower’ in the department.

Of the 19 posts of technicians, 11 are vacant. The available technicians have not been trained in running the high end equipment. Moreover, the high end labs need a thorough management, an aspect that is grossly missing in a staff crunched set-up.

A senior official in the health and medical education department said that in other similar labs of the country as well,  high-end equipment often lies idle due to lack of trained analysts.

“In addition, recurring maintenance funds, calibration support, and supporting infrastructure is also a major issue that has been unaddressed for years, and missing from plan and policy documents,” he said. The official said that the underutilisation is not just financial loss but a critical gap in food safety enforcement.