Shillong: Food Safety on Wheels, a mobile food testing laboratory, was launched here on Friday by Meghalaya health minister A.L. Hek.

The mobile food testing laboratory, under the Commissionerate of Food Safety here, will help to reach out to street food vending, catering, retail and distribution, storage and transport, manufacturing, bakery, sellers of meat, fish, etc, milk and milk products in the unorganised food business sectors.

The vehicle, which costs around Rs 37 lakh, is entirely funded by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), Union ministry of health and family welfare, which will also bear the maintenance cost of Rs 5 lakh per year. Hek said it was a multi-functional mobile laboratory, equipped with basic infrastructure for spot testing of food items for detection of adulteration in food products.

It will also act as a platform for conducting awareness programmes and imparting training for consumers, food business operators, school children, besides transporting of food samples from remote areas to the Food Testing Laboratories, an official communiqué said.