In a country like India, food safety is aptly the highest priority concern for industry stakeholders as well as the consumers. Especially with cases like Maggi containing lead, brick powder in chili powder, olive oil in honey and similar examples of food adulteration, use of pesticides, addition of color in food products have led to food safety becoming a major concern, both nationally and internationally. Such circumstances have given a major boom to the food and beverage testing industry. The global Food testing market is estimated to surpass $7,688 million marks by 2023 growing at an estimated CAGR of more than 6.1 percent from 2018 to 2023. In India, the food pathogen testing market was valued at $ 14 million in 2018 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 11.3% to reach $ 26.4 million by 2024.

Clearly, food testing and analysis has become essential pillars of food safety ecosystem. In India, the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) is a Constituent Board of Quality Council of India which is the nodal agency for the accreditation of food testing laboratories. NABL was established with sole objective of providing Government, Industry Associations and Industry in general with a scheme for third-party assessment of the quality and technical competence of testing and calibration laboratories. On the other hand, FSSAI is the nodal agency that governs the food safety scenario in India. Being India's food regulator, FSSAI is also mandated to recognize and notify laboratories through a well-defined regulation in order to improve and streamline the food testing activity.

With food and beverage testing industry showcasing immense potential, numerous firms have come up to bridge the gaps of this domain. With a vision to showcase the potential of such companies, in this edition of siliconindia magazine we have featured a list of `10 Most Promising Food and Beverage Testing Laboratories - 2019'. This carefully crafted list comprises of best-in-class service providers which are setting a niche in the industry with their top-notch offerings. On the cover we have featured Testtex India Laboratories Pvt. Ltd., a firm renowned for offering services related to testing, inspection and consultancy.

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