November 13 2007, 12:32

Lab of agricultural products quality and safety is created in Ukraine

A lab for quality and safety inspection of products of agri-industrial complex is created in Ukraine. Mr. S. Melnichuk, the Chief of the Lab, has informed the journalists today that the official opening ceremony is planned for November 16th, UNIAN informs. Mr. Melnichuk pointed out that the Lab is 100% state enterprise: it is subordinated to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and funded by state budget. He says, on of the main goals of the Lab is to bring the quality of Ukrainian products to European standards, when the label provides not only the caloric content of the product, but also the origin of the products, the production fields, the applied pesticides. According to Mr. S. Melnichuk, the creation of the Lab was fully funded by state budget. He said that they attempted to involve grants and other funds on the first stage, but, as a result, the decision was to make the Lab a state enterprise able to protect national interests.

S. Melnichuk informed, UAH 51 mln. have been spent to create a lab from its designing to equipping. To his opinion, around UAH 10-15 mln. are still needed to equip the lab will all necessary tools. Mr. Melnichuk informed that the Lab possesses gas and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometers able to "define" 183,000 of substances, for example to define the quantity of pesticides and fertilizers applied onto raw materials. Also, the lab has a spectrometer with inductive-coherent plasm able to specify the composition of the product according to Mendeleev table, and to define the presence of all micro elements. To the opinion of S. Melnichuk, such equipment let them protect Ukrainian consumers from poor quality products either imported to the country or produced by national growers. Five more similar research centers should be opened in the country to satisfy the need of Ukraine for such investigations, the specialist thinks.