• 200 different food items to be sampled
• Spices, packaged water, beverages
• Fruits and vegetables not listed for sampling
Morung Express News
Dimapur | April 24
The mobile food testing laboratory - Food Safety on Wheels – was stationed at New Market, Dimapur collecting samples and conducting tests simultaneously on April 24. The initiative is a component of a scheme introduced by the Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI) to strengthen the food safety mechanism in the country through a network of mobile laboratories, which will conduct on-site tests.
Under the FSSAI scheme, Nagaland received one van equipped with modern testing kits, which will cover the entire state district-wise. Chemists and technicians from the State Public Health Laboratory (SPHL), Kohima will travel alongwith the van in coordination with the respective district FSOs.
“We are to check whether the packaged food items available in the market comply with the FSSAI standard and whether the food items meet the nutritional values as claimed by the manufacturers,” said FSO, Dimapur, Sendong Jamir, who was supervising the tests today.
Queried on the range of items sampled or up for sampling, Jamir replied that samples of packaged drinking water, spices and beverages, including milk and fruit juices either locally produced or imported from outside the state were being tested in no pre-determined order.
He said that the target is to sample as many as 200 different food items in the two days during which the van will be stationed in Dimapur.
According to Jamir, the tests are rather “preliminary” in nature and samples failing the on-site tests would be referred for further laboratory analysis. It could not be ascertained if locally produced bakery products would also be sampled. Asked whether fruits and vegetables will be tested, he said that it was not included in the sampling list.
In January this year, 3 banana vendors were arrested by the police for allegedly using calcium carbide - an industrial chemical used to artificially speed up the process of fruit ripening. Follow up action, if any, from the Health & Family Welfare department, which supervises Food Safety, remains unknown.
SPHL Assistant Chemist, I Ayangba, who was conducting the tests, said that the equipment available in the mobile van is limited to testing packaged food items. “What we do at the mobile lab is do simple tests,” he said, while adding that samples failing these preliminary tests will be flagged for further analysis.
Citing haldi (turmeric) as an instance, he said that they look for signs indicating the presence of artificial colouring agents not permitted by food safety law.
As for perishable fruits and vegetables, he said that if asked to do so, samples will be required to be taken to the laboratory in Kohima. His colleague, Assistant Chemist, Neiphresenuo added that some 50 samples of various spices were tested till noon. “As of now, they (samples) are within the standard of FSSAI,” she said.
The report of the final analysis would likely take 1-2 weeks to prepare but added it is subject to the quantity and nature of tests. The final test report will be send to the FSO in concern.
It will continue on April 25 but did not specify any location in particular. The next stop after Dimapur will be Peren.
