Fayaz Bukhari
SRINAGAR, July 10: The Food Safety Standard Authority of India (FSSAI) today informed the State High Court that the Food testing laboratories at Srinagar and Jammu lack manpower and testing equipments and the Court sought presence of Commissioner/ Secretary Health Department along with his report.
Amicus to PIL and senior advocate Bashir Ahmad Bashir submitted before the court that the visiting report of FSSAI illustrated that the laboratories are only symbolic as neither facilities for conducting required tests nor qualified manpower is available. He added that the worst position is despite repeated court directions and even Food Commissioner has not been appointed till date which is a statutory requirement.
Court took serious note of pathetic conditions of the laboratories and directed the Commissioner Secretary Health to be present before the court along with his compliance report. He is presently officiating as Food Commissioner in absence of full-fledged Food Commissioner.
The division bench of Chief Justice Badar Durez Ahmad and Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey made FSSAI as party respondent to the PIL and its visiting report has been taken on record. “Various deficiencies need to be addressed immediately. One of the major concerns is that there is no FSC. We direct Commissioner/ Secretary health to file his compliance report indicating as to what steps have been taken for appointment of FSC on next date”, HC directed.
Court on previous hearing had directed Food Safety Standards Authority of India to send a qualified person here to visit the laboratories to find out the functioning of these laboratories.
The direction to FSSAI came after the court was informed by Controller Food Safety, that the charge of Food Safety Commissioner (FSC) is with the Commissioner Secretary Health Department and the proposal for appointment of FSC was sent to Government but no response till date.
It is in compliance of court directions CEO FSSAI deputed two person team to visit both the laboratories one at Jammu and one at Srinagar to visit these laboratoriess and submit the report as to whether the laboratories fulfill the requirement for testing of samples as required under the FSA, 2006.
Visiting team comprising Dr Lalitha R Gowda, former Chief Scientist and Director Referral Food Lab, Mysore and Shailender Kumar, Assistant Director, quality Assurance, FSSAI, New Delhi visited both labs – Public Health Lab Patoli, Jammu and Public Health Lab Dalgate, Srinagar and prepared detailed report on their visiting.
Visiting team found that Public Health Laboratory (PHL), Jammu and PHL, Srinagar are currently equipped with minor equipment, which are in working condition. These include electronic balance, muffle furnace, butyro-refracto-meter and tinto-meter etc. with the available instruments, the laboratories undertake preliminary food analysis such as moisture, crude fiber, ash, milk analysis using the milkoscan, physical and visual examination, qualitative test for added color,sweeteners and adulterants of milk and spices and BRR of oils and fats.
“Scrutiny of test reports at both laboratories illustrate that a wide spectrum of food categories listed in the FSS rules and regulations, are tested, but the testing parameter are limited”, team said in its report.
It is further submitted that both labs do not carry out any tests for contaminant such pesticide residues, heavy metals, veterinary drug residues, crop contaminants and naturally occurring toxic substances.
Court has also been informed that currently both the labs neither have in place ‘state-of-the-art’ equipment necessary for pesticide, heavy metals and drug residues etc nor competent and trained manpower to
operate the equipment. “A major limiting factor towards fulfilling the requirements of testing of food samples is the non-availability of sophisticated instruments”, report illustrated.
“The current analytical facilities and chemical testing capabilitiesof the labs do not fulfill the requirements of the FSS act and rules as also regulations. At Jammu lab a High Performance Liquid Chromatograph (HPLC) with a UV detector as also Gas Chromatograph with a Mass Spectrometer were installed but no samples analyzed due to lack of trained manpower as also two equipments are not in working condition”, report reads.
A major constraint observed by the team is the space required to install high-end equipment of PHL, Srinagar. The required space is available in the adjacent Forensic Science Laboratory that now belongs to Drugs and Food Control Organization. However, the lab is constrained from using this space owing to the unauthorized occupation by the belt forces.
Advocate Bashir, as indicated in the report, submitted before the court that neither of the two laboratories carry out microbiological testing of foods for any of the hygiene and safety parameters listed by FSSAI. There exists neither a functional microbiology laboratory nor a qualified microbiologist to carry out the microbiology testing.
“A major constraint is the lack of a qualified food microbiologist. It is recommended that qualified food microbiologists be appointed for both the labs at the earliest and trained in microbiological testing of food samples as per the FSS rules and regulations 2011”, visiting report revealed.
About the manpower which is major concern, Advocate Bashir with the help of visiting report of officials of FSSAI submitted that the sanctioned number of posts at PHL, Jammu is 23 out of which only 8 are filled with only a single certified Food Analyst.
“In order to meet quantum of analysis and provide timely analytical reports of the enforcement samples four FSOs with qualifications in chemistry have been inducted from the field to the lab. Similarly at PHL, Srinagar, five FSOs have been inducted into the lab at Srinagar, there are two certified Food analysts. Both labs have technically competent analysts but insufficient in number to meet the quantum of samples received for analysis”.
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