TDB to set up food safety laboratory at Pampa to evaluate FSSAI parameters in prasadam production

The Travancore Devaswom Board recently informed the Kerala High Court that a lab will be set up in Pampa to evaluate prasadam against Food Safety and Standards Authority of India parameters, including testing for pesticides and toxin levels, before the start of the Sabarimala pilgrimage season.

Arbitrator Raja Vijayaraghavan and KV Jayakumar were informed that the food safety department would identify the requirements and prepare a time-bound implementation plan. A decision was also taken to acquire National Accreditation Board accreditation for testing and calibration laboratories at the same time, the board said. The samples are currently being sent to a laboratory in Thiruvananthapuram for evaluation.

The Food Safety Department informed the board that the equipment of the laboratory would cost around ₹ 2 to 3 million and the laboratory would require an air-conditioned space of about 1000 square feet; these requests were confirmed by the board of directors.

The department also agreed to provide qualified personnel to operate the equipment and conduct the tests. It would explore the possibility of deploying two existing duly appointed Food Safety Officers for statutory inspection and sampling at Sabarimala.

Published – 24 Oct 2026 20:22 IST