Food Quality Control Laboratory: Does Your Factory Need One?
- Dr. Raina Jain
- Aug 22
- 9 min read
For many food manufacturers, laboratory testing is simply part of the production routine.
A sample is collected, sent to an external laboratory, the report comes back, and the batch is released. It works until the number of samples increases.
Then the problems start. Testing costs keep adding up, results take time, production batches remain on hold. Urgent samples have to be sent to laboratories at short notice. Different laboratories sometimes produce different results. And when a quality problem appears, the factory may discover that it does not have enough testing capability to investigate it quickly.
At that point, a question often comes up: "Should we develop our own quality control laboratory?"
The answer is not always yes.
For a small manufacturer with limited testing requirements, outsourcing may remain the most economical option. But for a growing food manufacturing facility with frequent routine testing, an appropriately designed laboratory can provide much more than cost savings. It can bring testing closer to production, shorten decision-making time and make the quality control system more responsive.
The real question is therefore not: “Can we set up a laboratory?”
It is: “Would a food quality control laboratory make sense for our factory?”
India's Food Testing Infrastructure: A Growing Need
India has a large and diverse food-processing industry, ranging from small enterprises to large integrated manufacturing facilities.
At the same time, the country has been strengthening its food-testing infrastructure. A Ministry of Food Processing Industries study conducted in 2020–21 identified 726 food-testing laboratories in the country, of which 585 had ISO/IEC 17025/NABL accreditation.
The government continues to invest in this infrastructure. In 2025, the Ministry announced financial support for the establishment of 100 new NABL-accredited food-testing laboratories, and its current Food Safety & Quality Assurance Infrastructure scheme specifically identifies improved accessibility of testing facilities and reduction of testing turnaround time as objectives.
But these laboratories primarily serve the wider food-testing ecosystem. For an individual manufacturing facility, sending every routine sample outside the factory can create its own operational challenges. That is where an appropriately designed food quality control laboratory can play a role.
If the laboratory is eventually intended for accreditation or customer-facing testing, the quality system needs to be designed appropriately from the beginning. Learn more about ISO/IEC 17025 and laboratory quality management.
What Does Outsourced Testing Really Cost?
The obvious cost of outsourced testing is the laboratory invoice. But it is not the only cost.
Consider what happens every time a sample leaves the factory:
Sampling → packaging → transportation → laboratory queue → testing → report → review → production decision
Depending on the test and laboratory, this can take considerable time. There can also be:
Sample transportation costs
Testing charges
Repeat testing
Urgent testing charges
Delays in batch release
Production or dispatch holds
Administrative effort in managing multiple laboratories
Delays in investigating a process deviation
The cost becomes more significant when routine tests are performed frequently.
Published testing tariffs from government and accredited laboratories show that routine food tests can range from a few hundred rupees to several thousand rupees per sample, depending on the parameter, method, product and laboratory.
For example, published tariffs from BIS laboratories show routine parameters such as moisture, protein and microbiological tests commonly in the range of a few hundred rupees per test, while specialised analyses can run into several thousand rupees. ICAR-IIHR's NABL-accredited laboratory, for instance, lists routine chemical and microbiological tests from ₹500–₹2,000 per parameter, while specialised pesticide-residue testing can cost ₹5,000–₹10,000 per analysis.
(These figures are only indicative. Commercial laboratory charges vary significantly depending on the laboratory, test method, product category, test package and whether the analysis is routine or specialised.)
The important point is not the cost of one test. It is the cumulative cost of testing over an entire year.
The economics of testing should be evaluated over a year, not sample by sample.
Does an In-Factory Laboratory Always Save Money?
Not necessarily. This is one of the biggest misconceptions about laboratory setup. A laboratory requires investment in:
Laboratory infrastructure
Equipment
Installation
Analyst manpower
Reagents and consumables
Calibration and maintenance
Reference materials and controls
Training and competency assessment
Laboratory documentation
Waste management
Quality assurance activities
Therefore, comparing an external laboratory bill directly with the purchase price of a few instruments gives a misleading picture.
The correct comparison is:
Annual outsourced testing cost vs. Total annual cost of operating the internal laboratory
And even that is not enough. A laboratory can create value through faster decisions, quicker investigations and better process control — benefits that may not appear directly on a laboratory expense statement.
It Is Not Only About Saving Testing Costs
For a food manufacturer, the decision to develop a quality control laboratory is not always driven by testing costs alone.
As manufacturers move towards larger institutional buyers, multinational customers and export markets, their quality systems increasingly come under closer scrutiny. Buyers may evaluate not only the final laboratory reports, but also how the manufacturer controls quality on a day-to-day basis.
In some customer and supplier-audit situations, having basic testing capabilities within the manufacturing facility can demonstrate that routine quality checks are integrated into the production process rather than being entirely dependent on external laboratories. This does not mean that every food manufacturer needs a fully equipped analytical laboratory, or that every test needs to be performed internally. The level of capability should depend on the product, process, risks, customer requirements and testing frequency.
However, a well-designed basic QC laboratory can strengthen a manufacturer's quality infrastructure and demonstrate greater control over its operations. This becomes particularly relevant for manufacturers looking to:
Supply large institutional or organised buyers
Qualify as vendors for larger food companies
Meet more demanding customer-audit requirements
Enter export markets
Strengthen their overall food safety and quality systems
In other words, a quality control laboratory can be more than a way to reduce external testing.
Food Quality Control Laboratory can be an investment in the credibility and market-readiness of the manufacturing facility.
The Better Question: What Should You Test Inside the Factory?
A food manufacturer does not need to bring every possible analytical test inside its facility. In fact, trying to do so can be a poor investment. A more practical approach is to divide testing into three categories.
1. Routine tests that are performed frequently:
These are often the strongest candidates for internal testing. Depending on the product, they may include:
Moisture
pH
Acidity
Total soluble solids
Basic chemical parameters
Routine microbiological testing
Physical quality parameters
Selected raw-material tests
Selected in-process tests
Selected finished-product tests
The exact scope should always be based on the product, process, hazards, specifications and applicable requirements.
2. Tests that require specialised infrastructure
Some analyses may require expensive instrumentation, highly specialised analysts or sophisticated sample preparation. Examples can include:
Multi-residue pesticide analysis
Advanced contaminant testing
Heavy metals by specialised techniques
LC-MS/MS analysis
GC-MS/MS analysis
Complex nutritional analysis
Certain authenticity or adulteration investigations
For many manufacturers, outsourcing these tests can remain sensible. For manufacturers with more specialised testing or export requirements, the testing strategy may also involve allergen, GMO, food fraud, environmental monitoring and method validation support.
3. Tests required for independent or regulatory verification
Even a manufacturer with a capable internal laboratory may continue using external accredited laboratories for certain purposes. For example:
Customer-specific testing
Export requirements
Periodic verification
Regulatory submissions
Confirmation of unusual results
Independent investigation
Tests outside the internal laboratory's validated scope
This leads to an important model:
The Hybrid Laboratory Model
The most practical solution for many food manufacturers is not:
“Everything inside.”
It is:
Routine testing inside + specialised testing outside.
This approach allows the manufacturer to keep frequently required testing close to production while retaining access to specialised external analytical capabilities.
For example:
Testing requirement | Possible approach |
Routine physical parameters | Internal laboratory |
Routine chemical testing | Internal laboratory |
Selected microbiological testing | Internal laboratory |
Process monitoring | Internal laboratory |
Advanced instrumental analysis | External laboratory |
Regulatory verification | External accredited laboratory |
Customer-specific specialised testing | External laboratory |
Unusual or disputed results | Independent external laboratory |
The actual split should be determined through a technical and economic assessment.
When Does a Food Quality Control Laboratory Make Sense?
There is no universal sample number at which every factory should build a laboratory.
The decision depends on several factors.
Testing frequency
A factory generating a handful of samples every month has a very different business case from one generating hundreds of routine samples.
Product risk
A manufacturer handling products with significant microbiological, chemical or allergen-related risks may require stronger and faster testing capabilities.
Production volume
Higher production volumes generally generate more samples, more quality decisions and greater potential value from rapid testing.
Product complexity
A single-product manufacturer may need a relatively simple laboratory.
A diversified facility manufacturing several products may require a broader analytical capability.
Customer and export requirements
Export markets and major customers can introduce additional specifications and verification requirements.
Existing QC problems
If the factory frequently faces:
Batch release delays
Repeated testing
Conflicting laboratory results
Recurring quality deviations
Slow investigations
Heavy dependence on external laboratories
then the case for strengthening internal testing becomes more compelling.
A Simple Way to Think About the Economics
Suppose a manufacturer sends 100 routine samples every month to external laboratories.
Instead of asking: “How much does one sample cost?”
The management team should calculate:
Annual sample volume × average external testing cost
and then add the less visible costs associated with transportation, turnaround time, sample management and production delays.
The same manufacturer can then estimate the annual operating cost of a suitably designed internal laboratory.
But there is another question that is often overlooked:
"How much of that testing actually needs to be done by an external laboratory?"
If 60–70% of the routine testing can technically and economically be performed within the facility, the investment decision can look very different from a situation where almost all tests require advanced instrumentation.
The percentages here should be treated as a planning scenario, not an industry benchmark. The actual proportion must be determined from the manufacturer's product portfolio and testing requirements.
A Laboratory Is Not Just a Room With Instruments
This is where many laboratory projects go wrong. A manufacturer may purchase equipment first and then try to figure out what the laboratory should do. The sequence should be the opposite.
A properly designed food quality control laboratory starts with:
Product → Risk → Testing requirement → Method → Laboratory capability → Equipment → Infrastructure → Manpower → Quality system
For example, buying a microbiology incubator does not automatically create microbiological testing capability.
The laboratory also needs appropriate:
Sample handling arrangements
Media preparation facilities
Sterilisation arrangements
Incubation controls
Environmental controls
Microbiological practices
Analyst competency
Test methods
Controls and reference materials
Documentation
Waste management
Result review procedures
The same principle applies to chemical or molecular testing.
The equipment should follow the testing requirement — not the other way around.
Planning the actual laboratory? Read our step-by-step guide to setting up a food testing laboratory in a manufacturing facility.
What Should a Food Quality Control Laboratory Ultimately Achieve?
A good laboratory should do more than generate reports. It should help the factory answer five questions:
1. Is the incoming material acceptable?
2. Is the process operating within control?
3. Does the finished product meet its specification?
4. Can we trust the result?
5. Can we act quickly when something goes wrong?
That last point is particularly important.
The value of an internal laboratory is not simply that a test can be performed ten metres away from the production floor. Its real value is that quality information can reach the people making production decisions faster. This requires the laboratory to be integrated with the manufacturer's wider quality management system rather than operating as a standalone testing function.
Laboratory testing is only one part of the larger food safety system. The testing programme should connect with overall quality management support fuctions like HACCP-based controls, verification, deviations and corrective actions.
So, Should Your Food Factory Have a Quality Control Laboratory?
If your factory performs only a small number of tests, outsourcing may remain the most practical option. But if you have growing production volumes, frequent routine testing, repeated quality problems, long testing turnaround times or increasing dependence on external laboratories, it may be time to evaluate a different model.
And that evaluation should happen before purchasing instruments or allocating a laboratory room. The first step is to understand:
What are you testing?
How often are you testing?
Why are you testing it?
Which tests genuinely need to be performed externally?
What would it cost to bring selected tests inside?
What infrastructure and manpower would be required?
What level of laboratory quality system is appropriate for your operation?
Once these questions are answered, the laboratory can be designed around the actual needs of the factory.
Planning a Food Quality Control Laboratory?
At 2F Quality Solutions, we help food manufacturers plan and develop laboratory capabilities around their actual products, testing requirements and quality objectives — from testing scope and laboratory planning to equipment selection, SOPs, analyst competency and audit readiness.
If you are considering setting up a laboratory, upgrading an existing QC facility or reducing dependence on external testing, the right place to start is not with an equipment quotation.
Start with the testing requirement. Then build the laboratory around it.
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