By IANS
Lucknow : Unscrupulous food merchants in Uttar Pradesh may now find it difficult to sell adulterated milk, cooking oils or other food in the market.
The central government has set up a stare-of-the-art laboratory to detect adulterated food. The Regional Food Research and Analysis Centre here will also check the quality of the mushrooming brands of mineral water sold in the market.
Director of the centre R.P. Singh said: “Unlike in the past when it took weeks and months to get a report of food samples, this will now be done in a few hours.”
“The modern analysis equipment installed in the laboratory could tell you in minutes the actual contents of the mineral water bottle,” he added.
Increasing use of pesticides often leave poisonous chemicals in fruits and vegetables. The new laboratory will measure the exact level of a hazardous chemical.
The laboratory can analyse the contents of ghee and butter, frequently adulterated with margarine.
“Not only will the laboratory be able to tell you the toxicity of food products, it will also enable us to detect steroid content in food. Besides, we will also be in a position to now affirm whether a particular colour used in an eatable is fit for human consumption,” Singh said.
The laboratory, which is now doing its trial run, will take in samples from February.