Press Release - SP Laboratorija
Bečej, 20 February 2012 – On Tuesday, 12 February 2013, SP Laboratorija, one of the first accredited laboratories in Serbia, received two separate requests to analyse milk samples: one from the Consumer Protection Association of Vojvodina and the other from the Provincial Secretariat of Agriculture, Water Management and Forestry of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina.
Acting in accordance with the established procedure, the sampling officers of SP Laboratorija collected the milk samples on the same day, and conducted the analysis employing the HPLC method. The results were delivered to the clients on 18 February 2013.
As is the case with all accredited institutions of this type, whether in the country or abroad, SP Laboratorija is not authorised to release the results of analyses to the public, as they are the property of clients who ordered them, and only the clients are entitled to disclose the results.
With the permission of the clients who ordered the analyses, SP Laboratorija may offer the remaining quantities of the samples used in the analyses to all relevant institutions for re-testing. Furthermore, we are willing to exchange information on the testing methodology with all laboratories that have conducted milk analyses in this period.
ABOUT SP LABORATORIJA
SP Laboratorija tests about 40,000 samples of food for human consumption and animal feed every year, for a variety of clients, including at the request of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management, the Ministry of Health, the national Veterinary Administration, as well as and a large number of foreign and local producers.
SP Laboratorija is one of the first accredited laboratories in Serbia, accredited under ISO/IEC 17025 by the Accreditation Body of Serbia. The laboratory received its first accreditation in 2001. Following the agreement between the Accreditation Body of Serbia and the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation, SP Laboratorija became internationally recognised. The current accreditation certificate was issued in 2011, following the second renewal of accreditation, and is valid until 2015 (the certificate is available on the website of the Accreditation Body of Serbia www.ats.rs).
ABOUT THE TESTING METHOD
SP Laboratorija tested for the presence of aflatoxin M1 in milk, in compliance with the SRPS EN ISO 14501:2011 standard: Milk and milk powder – Determination of aflatoxin M1 content – Clean-up by immunoaffinity chromatography and determination by high-performance liquid chromatography.
This method is extremely sensitive thanks to the highly selective immunoaffinity columns used for sample clean-up, while the determination of content is done using one of the most advanced techniques in food analysis: high-performance liquid chromatography (HLPC). SP Laboratorija is accredited to utilize these methods by the Accreditation Body of Serbia.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT SP LABORATORIJA
SP Laboratorija is one of the most sophisticated laboratories in Serbia, whose capacities and credibility place it in the ranks of international reference laboratories. This is confirmed through its regular participation in international inter-laboratory testing and quality arbitration services for international companies.
The laboratory is accredited to test, amongst other things, the quality and safety of food and feed, water, consumer products, and soil.
SP Laboratorija boasts 2,500m2 of space outfitted with state-of-the-art laboratory equipment that meets the strictest standards of laboratory practices in terms of temperature, humidity, ventilation, lighting and hygiene, while the design and layout of premises prevent cross-contamination of samples.
In addition to tests concerning genetic modification, microbiological safety, pesticides, heavy metals and metalloids, radioactive isotopes, vitamins, antibiotics, chemical composition, artificial sweeteners, preservatives and amino-acid content, the laboratory conducts physical and chemical tests for determining the presence of mycotoxins, which include aflatoxins.
SP Laboratorija employs more than 130 experts who use high-end testing equipment and standard methods of analysis according to the SRPS, ISO, and SRPS ISO standards, as well as the AACC, AOCS, AOAC and other methods. The quality system is compliant with the requirements of the SRPS ISO/IEC 17025:2006 standard.