100 New Food Testing Labs to be Established with Financial Support from Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Announces Ravneet Singh Bittu
Bathinda, 22nd March 2025 โ In a bid to enhance food safety and quality, Ravneet Singh Bittu, the Union Minister of State for Railways and Food Processing Industries, announced that the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MOFPI) will financially support the establishment of 100 new NABL-accredited food testing laboratories across India in the financial year 2025-26.
Bittu, who inaugurated a world-class food testing laboratory at Maharaja Ranjit Singh Punjab Technical University, highlighted the critical role of food testing in ensuring food safety. โFood testing is vital for ensuring that food products meet safety standards and are free from harmful contaminants and pathogens,โ he said.
The initiative is part of the governmentโs broader plan under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY), which has allocated โน503.47 crore for 205 laboratory projects. Out of these, 169 projects have already been completed, with โน349.21 crore disbursed. These labs play a crucial role in meeting the requirements of major regulatory bodies such as the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the Export Inspection Council of India (EIC), the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), and international agencies like the USFDA and EU regulations.
Farmers and producers in sectors such as citrus fruits, green peas, cauliflower, carrots (both fresh and frozen), milk and milk products, basmati rice, wheat, millets like bajra and sorghum, mustard and sunflower oilseeds, and farm-produced shrimp will benefit from these state-of-the-art facilities. These laboratories help ensure compliance with global standards, support exports, and improve the overall quality of food products, ultimately contributing to higher income for farmers and job creation, particularly for skilled technical personnel.
The laboratory inaugurated at Bathinda will employ cutting-edge technologies like GC-MS/MS, ICP-OES, HPLC, and UV spectrophotometers for testing pesticide residues, heavy metals, microbiological contaminants, and more. With a total project allocation of โน253.12 lakh and โน191.259 lakh already released, the facility will serve food processors, farmers, and food businesses to ensure the safety and quality of food products.
Elaborating on the achievements of the food processing sector in Punjab, Ravneet Singh shared that the Ministry has approved 24 cold chain projects totaling โน553 crore, 3 agro-processing cluster projects worth โน70 crore, 16 food processing units with an investment of โน432 crore, and 10 food testing laboratories totaling โน48 crore. Under the PMKSY scheme, 61 projects amounting to โน1557 crore have been approved in Punjab, with a grant of โน419 crore.
Additionally, six factories in Punjab have committed investments under the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme, totaling โน126.31 crore. Over 2,500 micro-entrepreneurs in Punjab have received subsidies under the Pradhan Mantri Formalization of Micro Enterprises (PMFME) Scheme, and 1,296 members of Self-Help Groups (SHGs) have received seed capital approval amounting to โน3.99 crore. In Bathinda and Mansa, honey and milk-based products are identified as the key products under the โOne District, One Productโ initiative.
In Bathinda, 483 loans amounting to โน142.3 crore were disbursed, while in Mansa, 253 loans amounting to โน72.15 crore were granted. Additionally, Self-Help Groups in Bathinda and Mansa received seed capital funding of โน75 lakh and โน18 lakh, respectively, under the PMFME scheme.
Ravneet Singh also visited an exhibition organized by PMFME beneficiaries, showcasing their products.
Other dignitaries present at the event included Dr. Sandeep Kansal, Vice Chancellor of Maharaja Ranjit Singh Technical University, Sh. Ranjit Singh, Joint Secretary of MOFPI, Sh. Rajnish Tuli, GM of Punjab Agro, Sh. Jitendra Dongre from MOFPI, Sh. Amit Joshi from KCCI, Sh. Sarup Chand Singla, District President of BJP Bathinda, Smt. Parampal Kaur, and S. Dayal Sodhi.
