At a cost of more than Euros 60 million (Rs 350 crore), the government has drawn up a blueprint to establish 40 more food and drug testing laboratories, as well as upgrading the existing ones to bring the country into line with international standards.
"These laboratories would be as modern as any other testing lab in a developed European country, and would be able to conduct tests for any unwanted matter that could harm the consumer," said a senior official in the health ministry, reports the Times of India
Capable of detecting genetically modified foods, banned residues, contaminants and chemicals , the laboratories will " force multinationals and Indian manufacturers to follow global standards in India as well," the official added.
According to the Times of India article, health officials admit that of the 19 food testing laboratories currently in place, none is capable of detecting banned contaminants to international standards.
This is clearly of concern, particularly in light of the recent sudan 1 food scare in the UK that is believed to be linked to chilli powder originally sourced from India.
The new food laboratories will be set up under a programme called which would also focus on good manufacturing and labelling practices.
"While latest equipment is being procured, the ministry will soon initiate training programmes for the laboratory staff," concluded the Times of India article.
Increasingly affluence is pushing consumer demand for branded foods and beverages in Indian. According to a recent report from ACNielsen the food and drink market grew by over 5 per cent in 2003: a rate of growth that outpaced the global average growth rate of 4 per cent for food and beverage across markets studied by ACNielsen.
Supporting this buoyant overall trend, growth rates for individual product categories within the Indian market also reflect aggressive performances.
In line with global trends, the need for convenience and a greater desire of healthier product alternatives is precipitating the growth in categories like convenience foods, impulse foods and non-carbonate soft drinks," says Sujit Das Munshi at ACNielsen South Asia.
Increased demand for healthier product alternatives appears to be stemming from a greater health -consciousness, and is further heightened by rapidly evolving work and lifestyle habits. These factors are driving consumption of product categories like non-carbonated soft drinks and breakfast cereals.
Across the Asia Pacific region the top two growth categories in 2003 were soy-based Drinks that rose 31 per cent and drinkable yoghurts that leapt 19 per cent.