Thiruvananthapuram: More and more food poisoning cases continue to be reported from across Kerala even as the Food Safety Department is crippled by inadequate testing facilities and shortage of staff. It is almost a free-for-all in the diverse food industry despite some attempts at regulation and licensing. Ensuring punishment for those accused in food poisoning cases remains a challenge as microbiology labs under the State Food Safety Commissionerate lack accreditation.
The number of hotels and other food production and distribution centres in Kerala is about 6 lakh; however, only less than 50,000 have licence.
As per the National Food Safety Act, the food samples seized must be tested in labs accredited with from the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL). The Court would approve only the test reports from such labs.
The main labs under the Kerala Food Safety Department are at Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode. However, only the chemical sections of these labs have NABL accreditation. The chemical labs are used to find the presence of pesticides, metals etc in the food samples.
Tests at the microbiology labs are crucial for the Food Safety Department. Raw and cooked food and drinking water are to be tested in these microbiology labs.
It has been three years since the Centre allotted Rs 3 crore to improve the lab facilities. However, no action has been initiated yet to revamp the labs and get the accreditation.
