Bhubaneswar, June 12: The civic body is considering setting up a state-of-the-art food-testing laboratory here to ensure safety of food products before they are consumed by citizens.

The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation has received a proposal regarding this from the Spice Board of Kerala, which intends to help in setting up the lab. At present, the Spice Board is in the process of setting up one such laboratory in Calcutta.

"We received the proposal from the Spice Board. We will discuss it with our officials before sending it to the state government for approval. Setting up of such a facility will help ensure safety of food products," said mayor Ananta Narayan Jena.

According to the proposal, the laboratory would contain advanced equipment on a par with international standards for undertaking physical, chemical, residual and microbiological analysis of spices and other food products. The lab would come up at the proposed Spice Park in the city.

Sources said about 8,000sqft was required for the lab, which would cost around Rs 15 crore. "There is a need for a high standard food-testing lab since food contamination is a major concern for residents. After the incident with Maggi, it is necessary to have a dedicated facility," said Damana resident Priti Padma Acharya.

The Spice Board's quality evaluation laboratory will help the administration in setting up the facility, including providing the layout for the proposed building and procurement of advanced instruments, their installation and training staff in operating them.

Officials said the facility would be able to test food products of all kinds, mainly processed and street food.

At present, the state government operates six such food-testing laboratories in Cuttack, Balangir, Balasore, Angul, Berhampur and Rourkela. However, the existing facilities can only test processed food products. The laboratories are under the authority of the state government's directorate of export, promotion and marketing.

"It will be good if the administration sets up such a facility in the city. Food products, be it street food or packaged, need to be tested periodically. There can be contamination at any time and the administration must ensure that our lives are not at risk. Moreover, the onset of monsoon aggravates the fear of food poisoning," said Acharya Vihar resident Amulya Naik.