The Indian government has revealed proposals to set up food testing laboratories in conjunction with Europe and the US to ensure export consignments meet international quality standards.

If the proposals succeed, exporters would be guaranteed acceptance by countries including the UK, Italy, France, Spain, and the US.

India’s Minister of State for food processing industries, Subodh Kant Sahai, said that ‘all food products should be exported after testing the quality here (in India)’ - adding that the standards for testing differ depending on the country.

Earlier this year, the US allowed the import of Indian mangoes, after an agreement was reached that they would goes through a fumigation test in a Maharashtran laboratory.

“As we have done in the case of mangoes, all food products should be exported after testing the quality here itself,” said Sahai.

In India, around 60 percent of people work in the agriculture industry, compared to just eight percent in Europe. l

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