Pune Municipal Corporation lab gets ISO accreditation

PUNE: The food and water testing laboratory of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) received ISO:9001:2008 accreditation under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, said a press statement issued by the civic body .

Started at Salunke Vihar in Kondhwa a year back, the lab had limited use for nearly a year, but was opened to the public in January 2013, offering a bouquet of 99 types of tests. Officials said the lab was designed primarily for testing meat at the Kondhwa slaughterhouse. Since it is well-equipped, the lab can be used by common people.

The lab was upgraded by installing newer and advanced equipment to make it fit enough to get an accreditation from the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories(NABL), an autonomous body under the aegis of the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India. The NABL grants accreditation to only those laboratories that conform to its stringent norms. The laboratory is located at the Kondhwa slaughterhouse on Salunke Vihar Road and accepts samples from Monday to Saturday during working hours. It has advanced equipment and machinery required for testing samples of water, food items and even sewage. The fee for testing food, which practically includes anything from grains to processed eatables to water samples, are equivalent to rates charged by any state government laboratory. Not just citizens, business establishments like hotels, warehouses, godowns can also avail of the lab's services, PMC officials said.