Establishment of Food Testing Laboratory in Assam

About the Food Testing Laboratory

The TERI Food Testing Laboratory (TERI-FTL) is an NABL-accredited facility in Assam and Northeast India for food and water testing, with over seven years of operation and four years of accreditation from the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) under the Quality Council of India (QCI). Established with partial financial support from the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI), Government of India, it specializes in chemical analysis of food and water and operates in compliance with ISO/IEC 17025:2017 standards.

As one of the food testing laboratories in Assam and the Northeastern region (NE) of India, TERI’s FTL was established to meet the growing demand for reliable food testing services across the region. Located at TERI's Northeastern Regional Centre in Guwahati, the laboratory commenced its commercial operations in July 2021 and secured its initial NABL accreditation in June 2022 for six parameters related to packaged drinking water. Since then, the laboratory has been steadily expanding its analytical capabilities and now offers testing services for over 70 parameters across a diverse range of products, including tea, green tea, turmeric, black pepper, chilli pepper, drinking water, packaged drinking water, packaged mineral water, fruits and vegetables and wheat flour (atta/maida).

Looking ahead, TERI-FTL aims to expand to 42 NABL-accredited testing parameters, enhancing its capacity to serve industries, academic institutions, and research organizations across the region. It will also focus on capacity building through specialized technical training for researchers, students, and academic institutions. By offering testing facilities, the lab will enable licensed food business operators and other stakeholders to obtain timely and efficient sample analysis, while reducing the need for long-distance transportation and associated delays.

The laboratory will ensure strict compliance with both national and international food safety standards, thereby fostering the production and consumption of safe and quality food. In addition, it will serve as a support system for regulatory authorities by strengthening food safety surveillance and monitoring systems.

Our Services

NABL-Accredited Testing:

The laboratory currently offers NABL-accredited testing services for a range of products including tea (CTC and green tea), turmeric (powder and fingers), packaged drinking water, packaged natural mineral water, and drinking water.

Non-Accredited Testing:

In addition, the laboratory conducts testing of various other food matrices under the non-accredited category, including fruits, berries, vegetables, wheat flour (atta and maida), black pepper, and chili pepper.

Types of testing services:

• Physical and sensory testing
• Proximate analysis
• Chemical analysis
• Microbiological testing
• Minerals and trace elements analysis

Accreditations:

NABL: Our laboratory is accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) in accordance with ISO/IEC 17025:2017 standard (Certificate No. TC-10656) for the chemical testing discipline demonstrating our commitment to quality, technical competence, and reliable analytical results.