State FDA laboratories to increase staff, sample collection and analysis to triple
Narwekar said, 'Each food safety officer will be tasked with collecting at least 10 samples. This means around 3,250 samples will be gathered—almost three times more than before.'
In addition to the state's three functional FDA laboratories in Mumbai, Sambhajinagar, and Nagpur, Narvekar said that two more will be added soon—one in Pune and another in Nashik. 'The construction of the Pune laboratory has been completed, while the Nashik facility is expected to be ready in the next two months,' he added.
At present, Mumbai and the Konkan region carry the bulk of the testing responsibility. However, Narvekar emphasized the need to distribute the testing load more evenly across regions. 'Nearly 80% of pharmaceutical manufacturing takes place in areas like Palghar, Ambernath, and Taloja. The food industry also has a heavy presence here. Meanwhile, Amravati division doesn't have a single FDA laboratory,' he explained. The FDA has submitted a proposal to set up additional labs in both Amravati and the Konkan to address this imbalance, he added.
The FDA is also expected to improve its ability to deliver timely reports. Last year, with the central government's approval, the FDA partnered with five NABL-accredited laboratories under the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). These labs, located in Nashik, Pune, and Navi Mumbai, helped share its workload, but due to logistical constraints, reports for samples collected from distant regions like Latur would take as long as 12-14 months to be finalised. Narwekar said that by using external laboratories, the FDA shortened that duration to just 14 days.
However, the central government scheme that facilitated this partnership ended in March. 'We've sent a proposal to extend this arrangement and expect approval in the next 7 to 8 days. If approved, it will significantly reduce the burden on our own labs,' Narwekar added.
FDA labs conduct 12 essential tests to examine the composition, quality, and contamination in food and pharmaceutical samples. 'It's a technical and strictly regulated process,' Narwekar said, stressing on the critical role laboratories play in the food and drug safety ecosystem. 'After collecting a sample, the lab test report becomes the basis for legal action. If the report shows that a drug is harmful to health, we initiate prosecution,' he added.
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