Logo of Phnom Penh Post newspaper Phnom Penh Post - Minister: Food lab protects public health

Minister: Food lab protects public health

Content image - Phnom Penh Post
The facility began preliminary analysis using GPO kit TM1 and TM2 to test for pesticide residue on vegetables, fruit and grain. FACEBOOK

Minister: Food lab protects public health

The Agriculture and Food Laboratory not only has an important role in ensuring the quality of agricultural and food products but also in protecting public health by preventing infectious and non-communicable diseases in both humans and crops, according to Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Veng Sakhon.

Sakhon said the laboratory has the final say on the verification of food products based on the quality of manufacturing processes or the levels of chemical residue, bacteria, parasites, viruses and other toxins in products.

“The laboratory plays an important role in maintaining the quality of agricultural and food safety and protecting public health ... The laboratory’s results are a clear indicator for determining whether producers have used chemicals or not,” he said.

The minister added that to strengthen officials’ capacity and improve the efficiency of the laboratory to meet national and international standards, the Department of Agro-Industry has cooperated with the China National Research Institute of Food and Fermentation to send experts to study modern technology and development in the food industry.

“After installing the laboratory with experimental equipment and having the management structure to organise the administrative and technical work, especially with the support of Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), from May 2017, the facility began preliminary analysis using GPO kit TM1 and TM2 to test for pesticide residue on vegetables, fruit and grain,” he said.

In addition, KOICA has provided equipment and chemicals for the analysis of agricultural waste and for the presence of harmful microorganisms such as salmonella and E coli in fresh meat, vegetables and fish.

MOST VIEWED

  • Wing Bank opens new branch in front of Orkide The Royal along Street 2004

    Wing Bank celebrates first anniversary as commercial bank with launch of brand-new branch. One year since officially launching with a commercial banking licence, Wing Bank on March 14 launched a new branch in front of Orkide The Royal along Street 2004. The launch was presided over by

  • Siem Reap airport to close after new one opens

    After the new Siem Reap-Angkor International Airport (SAI) opens in October, the existing complex serving the northwestern province will be “completely closed”, according to State Secretariat of Civil Aviation (SSCA) spokesman Sin Chansereyvutha. SAI developer Angkor International Airport Investment (Cambodia) Co Ltd (AIAI) last month

  • Girl from Stung Meanchey dump now college grad living in Australia

    After finishing her foundational studies at Trinity College and earning a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Melbourne in 2022, Ron Sophy, a girl who once lived at the Stung Meanchey garbage dump and scavenged for things to sell, is now working at a private

  • Rare plant fetches high prices from Thai, Chinese

    Many types of plants found in Cambodia are used as traditional herbs to treat various diseases, such as giloy or guduchi (Tinospora cordifolia) or aromatic/sand ginger (Kaempferia galangal) or rough cocklebur (Xanthium Strumartium). There is also a plant called coral, which is rarely grown

  • Ministry using ChatGPT AI to ‘ease workload’; Khmer version planned

    The Digital Government Committee is planning to make a Khmer language version of popular artificial intelligence (AI) technology ChatGPT available to the public in the near future, following extensive testing. On March 9, the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications revealed that it has been using the

  • Cambodia returns 15M Covid jabs to China

    Prime Minister Hun Sen said Cambodia will return 15 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines to China for donation to other countries. The vaccines in question were ordered but had not yet arrived in Cambodia. While presiding over the Ministry of Health’s annual meeting held on