{
  "id": 19950490,
  "title": "CFTRI initiative aims to standardise micronutrient testing in fortified rice",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/14/cftri-initiative-aims-to-standardise-micronutrient-testing-in",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-11-14T08:28:33.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Hindu",
    "slug": "the-hindu",
    "url": "https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/cftri-initiative-aims-to-standardise-micronutrient-testing-in-fortified-rice/article71701193.ece"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A national colloquium on harmonizing micronutrient testing and laboratory quality assurance for food fortification, known as NutriQA–2026, was held at the CSIR-Central Food Technological Research Institute (CSIR-CFTRI) in Mysuru on November 13, 2026. The event brought together experts, representatives, and professionals from various sectors to discuss strengthening analytical capabilities and harmonizing laboratory practices for fortified foods. Dr. Giridhar Parvatam, Director of CSIR-CFTRI, emphasized the importance of improving analytical quality control and quality assurance to ensure reliable testing of micronutrients in fortified foods. He stressed the need for standardized analytical methods, protocols, training, and collaboration among laboratories to minimize variations and ensure accurate results. CSIR-CFTRI, in collaboration with NIFTEM-Kundli, has been working on capacity-building initiatives for the past three years, supported by IIT Delhi through funding from the Gates Foundation. The institute has been contributing to strengthening the quality assurance framework for rice fortification by providing technical training and promoting standardized analytical practices for government and private laboratories across India. The colloquium featured technical sessions on various aspects of micronutrient testing, laboratory quality assurance, and performance criteria. A key component was a pre-consultation workshop on Quality Assurance – Fine-Tuning the Training of Trainers (ToT) Training Guide, which facilitated discussions on refining the Master Trainer Guide and Training Toolkit Checklist. The workshop also addressed practical challenges in determining iron, vitamin B9, and vitamin B12 in premixes, fortified rice kernels, and fortified rice, with a focus on harmonizing sampling and analytical protocols, standardizing testing procedures, and strengthening competency assessment mechanisms. The colloquium aimed to create a robust and sustainable network of competent laboratories across India, ensuring accurate, reproducible, and comparable analytical results to strengthen confidence in the country's food fortification programs.",
  "summary": "NutriQA-2026 focuses on reducing variations in laboratory results and strengthening quality assurance across the country",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}