India’s first NABL-accredited honey testing lab inaugurated

Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Friday inaugurated India’s very first honey screening lab established up by National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) at Anand.

The screening lab will unlock likely for apiarists to not just get domestic company but also just take edge of exports to the US and Europe. Till recently, the exporters have been essential to ship their samples to Germany for screening.

The improvement will come after National Bee Board’s 10 years-prolonged wait for a federal government screening facility for honey.

“Standard high-quality screening and certifications are the main specifications and preconditions for exporting honey to the marketplaces these kinds of as the US and Europe. The new lab will examination honey as per the norms specified by the food items protection regulator FSSAI. The high-quality honey will strengthen exports and make sure greater charges for farmers,” claimed Tomar incorporating that this shift will lead to India’s endeavours to double farmers’ money by 2025.

The lab — established up with ₹7.seven-crore funding from the federal government — has been accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Screening and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) and Export Inspection Council. It has also bought an approval from FSSAI as a national reference lab. The federal government has allotted ₹500 crore for bee-retaining infrastructure improvement beneath Atmanirbhar Bharat deal.

NDDB Chairman Dilip Rath claimed that the Board has established up the facility after FSSAI notified high-quality specifications for honey, as there was no extensive screening lab in the state.

Rath also mentioned that a proposal has been despatched to the Union Agriculture Ministry to supply Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) screening to determine ‘Country of Origin’.

Throughout the e-inauguration, Union Minister for Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Giriraj Singh claimed, “Honey’s authenticity experienced turn into a significant concern as suppliers indulged into unethical techniques for economic gains. The screening lab will enable honey farmers, cooperatives and honey market to deliver high-quality honey for domestic use and exports.”