Lab facilities in Kerala to be improved: Minister

Analytical laboratories in Kerala would be developed at a cost of Rs 50 crore for the strict implementation of the provisions in the Food Security Act, state Health Minister V S Sivakumar said today.
"Facilities at the government analyst laboratory at Thiruvananthapuram and regional analytical laboratories at Kozhikode and Kochi would be improved to meet international standards," the minister said in an official release here.
"Steps would be taken to get these labs accredited with the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL)," he said.
The scheme would be implemented with the assistance of the Centre. New laboratories would be started in border districts of Palakkad and Kasaragod as part of the drive to intensify food security tests.

Three mobile laboratories would also start functioning soon as part of the drive, the minister said, adding that food safety officers would be deployed in all assembly constituencies in the state.