By TIOL News Service

NEW DELHI, MAR 24, 2025: IN a bid to enhance food safety and quality, Ravneet Singh Bittu, the Union Minister of State for Railways and Food Processing Industries, announced that the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MOFPI) will financially support the establishment of 100 new NABL-accredited food testing laboratories across India in the financial year 2025-26.

Bittu, who inaugurated a world-class food testing laboratory at Maharaja Ranjit Singh Punjab Technical University, highlighted the critical role of food testing in ensuring food safety. "Food testing is vital for ensuring that food products meet safety standards and are free from harmful contaminants and pathogens," he said.

The initiative is part of the government's broader plan under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY), which has allocated Rs.503.47 crore for 205 laboratory projects. Out of these, 169 projects have already been completed, with Rs.349.21 crore disbursed. These labs play a crucial role in meeting the requirements of major regulatory bodies such as the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the Export Inspection Council of India (EIC), the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), and international agencies like the USFDA and EU regulations.

Farmers and producers in sectors such as citrus fruits, green peas, cauliflower, carrots (both fresh and frozen), milk and milk products, basmati rice, wheat, millets like bajra and sorghum, mustard and sunflower oilseeds, and farm-produced shrimp will benefit from these state-of-the-art facilities. These laboratories help ensure compliance with global standards, support exports, and improve the overall quality of food products, ultimately contributing to higher income for farmers and job creation, particularly for skilled technical personnel.

The laboratory inaugurated at Bathinda will employ cutting-edge technologies like GC-MS/MS, ICP-OES, HPLC, and UV spectrophotometers for testing pesticide residues, heavy metals, microbiological contaminants, and more. With a total project allocation of Rs.253.12 lakh and Rs.191.259 lakh already released, the facility will serve food processors, farmers, and food businesses to ensure the safety and quality of food products.

Elaborating on the achievements of the food processing sector in Punjab, Ravneet Singh shared that the Ministry has approved 24 cold chain projects totaling Rs.553 crore, 3 agro-processing cluster projects worth Rs.70 crore, 16 food processing units with an investment of Rs.432 crore, and 10 food testing laboratories totaling Rs.48 crore. Under the PMKSY scheme, 61 projects amounting to Rs.1557 crore have been approved in Punjab, with a grant of Rs.419 crore.

Additionally, six factories in Punjab have committed investments under the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme, totaling Rs.126.31 crore. Over 2,500 micro-entrepreneurs in Punjab have received subsidies under the Pradhan Mantri Formalization of Micro Enterprises (PMFME) Scheme, and 1,296 members of Self-Help Groups (SHGs) have received seed capital approval amounting to Rs.3.99 crore. In Bathinda and Mansa, honey and milk-based products are identified as the key products under the "One District, One Product" initiative.

In Bathinda, 483 loans amounting to Rs.142.3 crore were disbursed, while in Mansa, 253 loans amounting to Rs.72.15 crore were granted. Additionally, Self-Help Groups in Bathinda and Mansa received seed capital funding of Rs.75 lakh and Rs.18 lakh, respectively, under the PMFME scheme.