May 5, 2010

A quality testing laboratory will be set up in Delhi, India next month in order to increase exports of meat and poultry products from the country, the Minister of Union Food Processing, Subodh Kant Sahai, announced on May 4 .

"To facilitate exports, the National Meat and Poultry Processing Board is establishing the first meat and poultry food testing lab in Delhi that will start functioning by June 30 this year," Sahai said at the board's second national conference in the country.

He also said that at least four more similar laboratories will be required in order to facilitate easier quality testing of the meat and poultry products.

"India, which has the largest livestock population in the world (42 crore or 420 million), has only 2% share in the global meat market," Sahai said, indicating that appropriate measures need to be taken to increase this.

Upgrading slaughter houses, training butchers and arranging for transportation facilities that refrigerate the meat and poultry products from the point of production to supply are needed in order to increase exports.