What the Food Labs Do ?

Food-borne diseases remain a challenging problem globally, causing many diseases and significant economic losses. Contaminants in food can cause acute or chronic diseases. Those contaminants can be,

• Physical (Adulterants, Additives etc.)
• Chemical (Heavy metals, Toxins etc.)
• Microbiological (Bacteria, Virus etc.)

Food testing laboratories are designed to test all these contaminants.

Foods that are imported, exported and those available in the market are tested for various parameters. Therefore these laboratories help the Food control administration unit of the Ministry of Health to ensure that the food available in the country are safe to consume. Laboratories can be divided into 2 groups.

• Authorized laboratories under the food Act. (These laboratories test formal samples)
• Non-authorized laboratories (These laboratories test informal samples Eg. Imported foods)

Minimum Sample weight required for analysis

Approved Laboratories Under the Food Act