VIJAYAWADA: The State is set to inaugurate a cutting-edge food laboratory at Tirumala, aimed at ensuring the highest quality standards of prasadam and food served to devotees. Health Minister Y Satya Kumar Yadav has announced that the facility, taken up at a cost of Rs 25 crore, is nearing completion with 90% of the work already finished.
Operations are expected to begin next month. The laboratory will test over 60 varieties of raw materials used in prasadam preparation, including ghee, cashew, raisin, almond, chickpea, sugar, cardamom, turmeric and chilli.
To address concerns over adulterated ghee, the lab will be equipped with E-Tongue and E-Nose devices imported from France at a cost of Rs 3.5 crore.
These advanced devices can detect even microscopic variations in taste and smell, ensuring authenticity and purity.
The initiative follows an agreement signed with the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) in October 2024, under which Rs 23 crore was sanctioned.
The lab is being set up in a renovated 12,000 sq. ft. building within the Tirumala flour mill premises. Work began in July last year, and once operational, the facility will house 50 specialised instruments for microbiology, chemistry and sensory testing.
The lab will analyse prasadam, food items, water, and raw materials for pesticide residues, heavy metals, microbes, and antibiotics. It will also have the capacity to detect up to 200 types of pesticide residues.
Around 40 staff members will be jointly appointed by the Health Department and the TTD to manage lab operations. The Health Minister emphasised that this is the first-of-its-kind laboratory in a pilgrimage centre in Andhra Pradesh, setting a benchmark for food safety. He noted that the E-Tongue and E-Nose, rarely available in India, replicate human taste and smell to ensure unmatched precision in quality checks of prasadam and food.