VISAKHAPATNAM: Two years after its inauguration, the Andhra Pradesh State Food Laboratory in Visakhapatnam is yet to become fully functional, with a shortage of staff limiting the utilisation of the infrastructure and equipment provided at the facility.
The laboratory, established at a cost of Rs 4.77 crore and inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in February 2024, was intended to provide the State with its own testing facility following the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh in 2014, after which the erstwhile State Food Laboratory remained in Hyderabad. This was followed by an additional Rs 19 crore spent on equipment and chemicals.
Yet, the facility has remained non-functional since its inauguration. Following the bifurcation of united Andhra Pradesh, the state has lacked a single operational government food laboratory.
Although laboratories were sanctioned in five districts, none have been made functional. Crores of rupees continue to be spent on infrastructure, equipment, and chemicals, but absence of staff recruitment has left these facilities idle. As a result, AP has no functioning government laboratories for food testing.
“The laboratory is expected to analyse 1,000 food samples a month once it becomes operational. Adequate testing capacity is important for improving the State’s performance under Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) assessment and for moving towards National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) accreditation,” an official requesting anonymity said.
“Equipment and chemicals are available, but trained personnel are required to operate the facility and undertake testing. Providing the required staff will enable the laboratory to gradually build its testing capacity and meet the requirements for accreditation,” the official added.
A TNIE report in September 2025 highlighted staffing delays. The government later began recruitment, but sources said some recruited personnel were deployed at Tirumala food laboratory.
The Food Safety Department’s 2025-26 and 2026-27 plans provide for surveillance and legal samples to be tested at FSSAI-approved, NABL-accredited private laboratories in Chennai and Hyderabad.
AP has about 54 food inspectors and 50-60 laboratory technicians statewide, compared with over 250 inspectors and two laboratories in Tamil Nadu. Experts stressed that adequate staff is essential for regular testing and timely reports. With inspectors relying on private laboratories, staffing the Visakhapatnam State Food Laboratory remains crucial to strengthening the State’s food-testing capacity.
