India gets its first honey testing lab

Vadodara/ Anand: Milk city Anand is now home to country’s first accredited laboratory that can test nectar, a symbol of well-being – the honey.
A honey testing facility has come up as part of the Centre for Analysis in Livestock and Food (CALF), the multi-disciplinary laboratory of Anand-headquartered National Dairy Development Board (NDDB).
Narendra Singh Tomar, union minister for agriculture and farmers welfare, inaugurated the laboratory and bee-keeping training programme for dairy farmers from Delhi on Friday.
It is the only accredited laboratory that can test honey samples as per FSSAI’s latest regulation by undertaking authenticity testing by using sophisticated analytical instruments and wet chemical analysis. The NABL accredited laboratory can also test honey as per requirement of BIS, AGMARK, Codex standards and Residue Monitoring Plan of Export Inspection Council covering pesticides, antibiotics, heavy metals and wet chemical testing.
Tomar said that authenticity of honey has become a serious issue as suppliers indulge in unethical practices for economic gains. “The testing facility at NDDB will help honey farmers, cooperatives and honey industry in producing quality honey for domestic consumption and export by meeting regulatory requirements,” he said. Rath said that NDDB along with National Bee Board (NBB) had initiated the drive to promote scientific bee-keeping among farmers through cooperative network.