India

Competent authorities

Name of authority:
1 Food safety and standards Authority of India (FSSAI)


Mandate/competence:
FSSAI has been established under Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 which consolidates various acts & orders that had hitherto handled food related issues in various Ministries and Departments. FSSAI has been created for laying down science based standards for articles of food and to regulate their manufacture, storage, distribution, sale and import to ensure availability of safe and wholesome food for human consumption.
http://www.fssai.gov.in/

Name of authority:
Export Inspection Council of India (EIC)
Mandate/competence:
EIC was set up by the Government of India under the Export (Quality Control and Inspection) Act, 1963 (22 of 1963), in order to ensure sound development of export trade of India through Quality Control and Inspection and for matters connected thereof.
EIC, either directly or through Export Inspection Agencies, its field organisations, renders services in the areas of:
• Certification of quality of export commodities through installation of quality assurance systems (In-process Quality Control and Self Certification) in the exporting units as well as consignment wise inspection.
• Certification of quality of food items for export through installation of Food Safety Management System in the food processing units.
• Issue of Certificates of origin to exporters under various preferential tariff schemes for export products.
www.eicindia.gov.in

Name of authority:
Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA)
Mandate/competence:
APEDA is responsible for ensuring food safety and quality of scheduled products for exports.
http://apeda.gov.in

Name of authority:
Spice Board


Mandate/competence:
Spices Board is the flagship organization for the development and worldwide promotion of Indian spices. The Board is an international link between the Indian exporters and the importers abroad.
The Board may develop, promote and regulate export of spices; grant certificate for export of spices and register brokers.
www.indianspices.com

INFOSAN Emergency Contact Point

Food safety and consumer protection – laws and regulations

The national Codex programme

National Codex consultative mechanism

Providers of scientific and technical input to national consultation on Codex

Risk Assessments and Scientific Data

National bodies providing risk assessment and scientific advice

Risk assessment, risk profiles, scientific opinions

Official Laboratories

Official Laboratory:
As per the Food Safety and Standards (Recognition and Notification of Laboratories), a three tiered structure has been specified to notify laboratories for different purposes, as under:
i) Referral Laboratories – The Food Authority recognizes referral food laboratories for the purposes of carrying out analysis of appeal samples. Presently there are 19 referral food laboratories.
ii) Reference Laboratories - FSSAI has recently launched National Reference laboratory (NRL) to set up a country wide standard for routine procedures, reliable testing methods & validation of such standard procedure/testing methods, development of new methods and ensuring proficiency in testing across the food laboratories with special reference to the risks or food categories. Either a primary food laboratory or a referral food laboratory can be considered for declaration as a NRL. Presently there are 15 provisional NRLs.
iii) Notified Laboratories - The Food Authority notifies food laboratories and research institutions accredited by National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories or any other accreditation agency for the purposes of carrying out analysis of samples by the Food Analysts. Presently there are 172 notified food testing laboratories.

Official Competence:
https://fssai.gov.in/cms/food-laboratories.php:

Official Laboratory:
Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bangalore
Official Competence:
Pesticide residue analysis of fruits and vegetables, cereals and pulses, water, spices (curry leaves), Nutritional, Proximate and microbiological analysis of fresh and processed food products.

Official Laboratory:
i. Quality Evaluation Laboratory, Spices Board, Kochi
ii. Quality Evaluation Laboratory, Spices Board, Guntur
iii. Quality Evaluation Laboratory, Chennai
iv. Quality Evaluation Laboratory, Navi Mumbai

Official Competence:
Analysis of chemical contaminants (pesticide residues, heavy metals, illegal dyes and any other chemical contaminant), mycotoxins (aflatoxins, ochratoxin etc.), microbial contaminants, physical contaminants and adulterants in Spices.

Official Laboratory:
1.) Centre for Analysis and Learning in Livestock in Food (CALF), National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), Gujrat;

2.) National referral center on milk quality and safety –NABL accredited lab at ICAR-NDRI , Karnal

Official Competence:
1.) Milk and Milk Products, Analysis of pesticides, antibiotics and veterinary drugs, microbial contaminants and mycotoxins, heavy metals, Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons, dioxin, other emerging contaminants and Microbial parameters in milk and milk products.

2.) BSL-3 laboratory for conducting risk profiling work on dairy pathogens
• Capability to conduct work on AMR pathogen in dairy setting
• Capability to test antibiotic residues and adulteration in milk

Official Laboratory:
Council of Scientific and Industrial Research -
Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad

Official Competence:
Analysis of moisture, hexane insoluble matter, acid value, unsaponifiable matter, iodine value, saponification value, allyl isothiocyanate, Reichert Meissl value, peroxide value, fatty acid composition, presence of animal body fat in the vegetable fat, cold test, test for physical properties, nickel in vanaspati,
phosphorous in soyabean oil, presence rancidity, soluble colors, presence of beef fat, phospholipids, tocopherol, trans fatty acid determination, Pesticide Residues, Heavy metal analysis in fats and oils.

Official Laboratory:
National Research Centre on Meat, Hyderabad
Official Competence:
Physico-chemical analysis (meat species identification, proximate composition, pH value, water holding capacity, meat pigments, emulsifying capacity, free fatty acid, peroxide value, TBA value, cholesterol content, nitrite content, sensory evaluation, texture & tenderness of meat & meat products, instrumental colour value, COD level of slaughter house effluent), microbiological analysis, Pesticide Residues and Fatty acid profiles of meat and meat products.

Official Laboratory:
Indian Institute of Crop Processing Technology,
Food Safety and Quality Testing Laboratory, Tamil Nadu

Official Competence:
Nutritional, Proximate and Microbiological analysis of fresh and processed food products; Packaged Drinking Water analysis; Analysis of pesticide residues, heavy metals and microbiological analysis of Cereals and Cereal Products and Spices.

Official Laboratory:
i. National Food Laboratory, Kolkata
ii. National Food Laboratory, Ghaziabad
iii. Food Safety and Analytical Quality Control Laboratory, C/o. Central Food Technological Research Institute, Mysore
iv. State Public Health Laboratory, Pune

Official Competence:
Food Product Standards, Contaminants, Toxins, Residues, Microbiological parameters and Food additives in all food commodities

Official Laboratory:
Central Institute of Fisheries Technology, Indian
Council of Agricultural Research, Kerala

Official Competence:
Physio-chemical analysis, bacteriological tests, detection of viruses, bacterial toxins, antibacterial substances, other microbiological tests, analysis of pesticide residue & heavy metals in Fish and Fishery Products.

Official Laboratory:
1. CSIR-Indian Institute of Toxicology Research, Lucknow;





2. National Referral Laboratory, ICAR–National Research Centre for Grapes, Pune


3. Pesticide Formulation and Residue Analytical Centre, National Institute of Plant Health Management (NIPHM), Hyderabad




4. Punjab Biotechnology Incubator, Punjab

Official Competence:
1. Pesticide Residues, Heavy Metals, Mycotoxin and Microbiological analysis of food (Fruits, Vegetables, Cereals, meat, Fish & oil) commodities. Pesticide Residues, Heavy Metals and Microbiological analysis of Water.

2. Analysis of pesticide residues, Mycotoxins and persistent organic contaminants (organochlorines, polyaromatic hydrocarbons, dioxin like polychlorinated biphenyls) in the foods of plant origin;


3. Analysis of pesticide residues in food commodities


4. Food Product Standards, Contaminants, Toxins, Residues, Microbiological parameters and Food additives in milk & milk Products and analogues, Fats, Oils & Fat emulsions; Fruits, Vegetables and their products; Cereals & Cereal Products, Sweets & Confectionery; Sweetening agents including Honey; Salts, Spices, Condiments & related products; Non-alcoholic & Carbonated beverages; Mineral water; Packaged drinking water (other than Mineral water).

Surveillance of foodborne diseases and monitoring of food contamination

National surveillance systems – foodborne disease in humans

National monitoring systems – foodborne hazards in the food chain