Serbia gets National referntial laboratory - Investment of EUR 8 m

In Belgrade today, after 11 years of announcing, the Directorate for national referential laboratories, started working. It should provide Serbia to get complete system of food health safety control.

Since 2004, EU has poured EUR 8 m for construction and adaptation of offices, equipping and staff training, the minister of agriculture and environmental protection, Snezana Bogosavljevic Boskovic said.

Phyto-sanitary lab started operating within the Directorate and by the end of the year, as the minister said, lab for control of milk quality will open as well.

She added they have been working of procurement of equipment for opening of physical and chemical examination of food and food for animals of plant and mixed origin. Boskovic said that the opening of labs will provide unique, independent and safety reliable food control system.

EU Delegation head in Serbia, Michael Davenport, said the labs will present essential and important element in food safety chain in line with international and EU standards.

He said that labs and the Directorate will help the state administration to protect consumers’ health more efficiently.

The laboratory will be guarantee for safety of food export from Serbia, especially to EU market as the biggest market where Serbia exports its food products, Davenport said and added that Serbian agriculture has succeeded in increasing export to EU from 2009 until now by 125%.