State-of-the-art food safety laboratory facilities in South America

Press release

6 January 2005

BSI Inspectorate has opened two new state of the art food-testing laboratories in South America which will provide all parties in the food supply chain with a facility to meet all regulatory and commercial needs.

The labs in Santiago, Chile and Manta, Ecuador will be joined by another Chilean facility in Puerto Montt later in the New Year.

The technology made available by these new facilities will offer exporters the opportunity to demonstrate to regulatory agencies as well as retailers and buyers that they meet the increasingly stringent requirements that have been imposed by the EU and USA. At the other end of the scale it will benefit retailers by enabling them to mandate the use of such advanced procedures.

Commenting on the opening Sergio Sanchez, Vice President, Food Safety, BSI Inspectorate said: “These labs are part of BSI’s global strategy to provide a one-stop-shop solution for all food safety requirements, whether that be testing and analysis, certification, traceability, training or inspection.

“The EU and USA have set strict limits on a long list of contaminants in food stuffs and all food imported into the EU or USA has to meet these standards. Consequently we want to help companies ensure the integrity of the supply chain from producers through to retailers and this is the major rationale behind the opening of the food labs in Latin America.”

The largest of the labs, the one based in Santiago, will offer a wide range of analytical services to all sectors in the food industry including chemical residues (i.e. antibiotics, fungicides and pesticides), heavy metals, pathology and microbiology. This facility will contain some of the most advanced food testing technology available e.g. LC/MS-MS and GC/MS-MS.

The laboratory in Manta will focus on analysis for heavy metals for the local fishery industry. Metals such as cadmium, mercury, and lead will be tested using the latest technology for analysis.

The second Chilean facility in Puerto Montt, opening soon, will specialise in chemical residue testing and pathology in seafood.

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