Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Jan 2: The Food Safety and Standards Association of India (FSSAI) has barred Valley’s lone testing lab from testing food samples for failing to get accreditation by the National Accreditation Board for Laboratories (NABL).
As per the officials of the Food Safety Department public health laboratory Dalgate, Srinagar has been denotified by the FSSAI along with several other labs across India for failing to apply for accreditation on time.
The lab, as per officials, had stopped food testing from December 31, 2020, and it would direct the samples to Public Health Laboratory Patoli Mangotrian Jammu for testing. As per the order the lab was denotified because of its failure to apply for accreditation by National Accreditation Board of Laboratories (NABL) by 15th November 2020.
The Jammu lab, however, has been successful in retaining the accreditation and Drug and Food Control Department has asked its Kashmir division to direct all samples to Jammu for analysis.
Commissioner Food Safety, Shakeel-Ur-Rehman, said the department could not complete the documentation on time because of the reluctance of the experts to visit the Valley due to COVID-19 in September last year. “Certain documents need to be attached up to September but that could not be achieved because of the reluctance of experts to visit the Valley. As a result, Calibration of certain equipments could not be done on time. Otherwise, we had applied on time and kept everything ready by October,” he said. He added that NABL has given them time until February this year to complete the documentation, “the lab will be functional by February.”
Asked about the alternative arrangements for testing in the Valley, he said that department has already taken up the matter with the Indian Institute of Integrated Medicine (IIIM). “I have tasked the designated officer to pursue the authorities of IIIM. I hope that would accept our request and help us in testing the samples in Srinagar only,” he said.
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