State Food Laboratory Faces Testing Delays Due to Critical Staff Shortage
A severe staffing shortage at the State Food Laboratory in Nacharam is causing significant delays in food sample testing. With only one analyst overseeing a high volume of samples from ongoing food safety raids, result turnaround times have extended to a month.
Highlights
- •The State Food Laboratory in Nacharam is operating with only one food analyst, causing significant testing delays.
- •The increased workload from H-FAST raids and insufficient staffing have resulted in reports taking up to a month to finalize.
- •Staffing levels have plummeted since the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, with many junior analysts leaving for private roles.
- •The laboratory manages diverse testing parameters for a wide range of food products, requiring meticulous and time-consuming analysis.
The State Food Laboratory (SFL) located in Nacharam is grappling with a severe staffing crisis that is significantly hindering its ability to process food samples efficiently. Currently, the facility operates with only one food analyst tasked with overseeing all incoming testing requirements. This limited manpower has resulted in substantial delays, particularly for surveillance samples, as the laboratory struggles to keep pace with the rising volume of inspections.
Manpower Shortage Impacts Laboratory Operations
The operational pressure on the State Food Laboratory has escalated further due to the increased activity of the Hyderabad Food Adulteration Surveillance Team (H-FAST), which has been conducting extensive inspections throughout the city. Following the administrative bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, the laboratory’s staff numbers dwindled, and a retirement in 2024 left just one analyst to supervise junior, contract-based staff. The total regular workforce, including administrative roles, is restricted to just nine individuals, with many junior analysts reportedly seeking employment in the private sector.
According to current operational procedures, the food safety department gathers two primary types of samples: those for quality monitoring (surveillance) and those intended for legal proceedings (statutory). While the laboratory attempts to prioritize emergency testing, routine reports are experiencing significant wait times, often stretching from 20 days to an entire month. This is despite FSSAI guidelines recommending that food safety officers conduct a minimum of 10 inspections monthly, collecting 15 surveillance samples and 10 statutory samples each.
Challenges in Food Safety Testing Protocols
The complexity of modern food analysis adds another layer of difficulty for the understaffed facility. The State Food Laboratory must manage diverse testing parameters for a wide array of products, ranging from dairy items like milk and honey to various types of processed foods. Each category demands rigorous scrutiny and time-consuming analysis to meet safety standards. Since the establishment of H-FAST in March 2026, the influx of samples from police-led raids—estimated at approximately 15 samples every month—has further burdened the already stretched analysts.
The impact of these delays extends across several regions, as the facility processes samples not only for the food safety department but also for various municipal corporations, including the Cyberabad municipal corporation and surrounding districts. With analysts occupied by the current backlog, results that were previously expected within a week are now frequently delayed by up to a month. As the food safety department continues its surveillance efforts at restaurants and eateries, the laboratory remains under constant pressure to clear its pending reports.
