Patna: The state govt will expand its food safety drive to all districts with four new testing laboratories proposed in Bhagalpur, Muzaffarpur, Munger and Purnia, health minister Nishant announced on Friday while distributing training certificates to 26 newly trained food safety officers posted across Bihar.The minister said food safety activities were earlier largely confined to Patna due to a shortage of manpower. With the new appointments, all districts will have officers to conduct inspections, collect samples and act against violations. Inspections will continue throughout the year, not just during festivals. The Patna laboratory is also being renovated.Health department secretary-cum-food safety commissioner Kumar Ravi urged officers to educate food establishments about safety standards and give them an opportunity to make improvements as per procedure. He also stressed the need to monitor food quality and harmful chemicals.The officers completed 40 days of mandatory training, including 14 days of classroom sessions and 26 days of practical training covering inspections, sample collection, laboratory testing and enforcement procedures. The department said raids and inspections were already underway across districts.
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