Vested interests delaying accreditation process

KOCHI: The state government’s criminal neglect in getting accreditation from the national accreditation body has been hindering the development of three major government analytical labs in the state. It is alleged that some lobbies that are interested in the huge business are trying to sabotage the move to get the government labs accredited. With the Food Safety Act (FSSA)-2006 coming into effect from August, the food samples can be checked only in accredited labs. This may be the motive behind such a move by vested interests. Health Department sources said there is an attempt for widespread privatisation of the labs and a powerful lobby is behind the move to delay the accreditation process of analytical labs in the state. Though a consultant has been appointed for initiating the accreditation process, nothing has happened so far, they said. “The consultant had visited the analytical labs and taken note of the letters and documents that were sent earlier for getting accreditation. Apart from this, nothing has happened so far,” an official with the Government Analytical Lab here said. An official of the Office of the Commissioner of Food Safety said the analysts from the private labs have also been allowed to attend the food analysts test conducted by the Food Safety authority, which is a deliberate move to encourage privatisation. Earlier, only those from the government labs could attend the test. Once the test is passed, they are notified as food analysts, who are eligible to conduct the tests. This would give the private agencies an upper hand in testing the samples, he said. “The credibility of the tests would be lost once the private labs come into the picture. The government would have no control over the private organisations and anyone can manipulate the results,” he said. At present, the three analytical labs in the state are defunct. There is no required equipment therein for analytical purposes. There are also no technical experts at the labs to conduct the validation of food additives

Source:http://expressbuzz.com/cities/kochi