When an analyst starts working in a laboratory, usually their lab becomes their world. When this statement is seen in a positive light, one can understand the depth of influence an environment and surrounding has on the analyst. The first thing comes on the mind of the analyst when he/she is going under an induction program is the lab design whether it is spacious or cramped. Lab design is very critical for an analyst because he/she will spend minimum of 8 hours of their valuable life in the lab.
When I started working in 2005, I was exposed to spacious well designed and equipped 2500 sq. feet cosmetic testing lab and suddenly with change of course in my career started working in 150 sq. feet beverage testing lab. And thankfully one point of my career was given the opportunity to spear head team to design an ideal lab.
Over the last decades we have seen emergence of ISO 17025 and its influence on testing laboratories. Lab process are getting more streamlined with regulations playing an important role. Thus, changing our whole outlook towards food lab and no longer differentiating between pharma lab and food testing lab. In this 30-minute talk I would like to share my experience along with challenges faced during my journey of building food testing lab and microbiology lab for FSSAI.