RECORDER REPORT
LAHORE (February 03 2010): The WTO-Quality
Control Laboratory (WTO-QCL) of the
University of veterinary and Animal
Sciences,
UVAS, Lahore, has earned accreditation from
the Pakistan National Accreditation Council
(PNAC) on becoming capable of
determining origin of livestock commodities
and food ingredients of animals.
With this technology in place at the UVAS,
the WTO-QCL will be able to detect and stop
transformation of diseases, also
through the trade of exchange of animals,
like goat, sheep, buffaloes, dogs, cats,
tigers with other counties. WTO-QCL's
Professor Dr Khushi Muhammad said that the
university was assigned the project "Quality
Control Laboratory by Punjab
Government (2003-04 to 2007)" for testing
livestock and food of animals' origin with
reference to the World Trade
Organisation (WTO).
He said the Rs 99.998 million worth project
was completed within time in phases -
construction of building, acquisition of
necessary equipment and induction of trained
staff at lab in line with the instructions
and of international standards.
Acknowl-edging Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr
Muhammad Nawaz's support, Professor Muhammad
said the university was able to
set up first-ever quality control lab to
determine the origin of livestock
commodities and food ingredients of animal
and
plant origin for national health and
security reasons.
He said general public was not aware of
hidden and harmful effects of many compounds
and food of animal origin on human
health. Therefore, he said, the WTO
emphasised the standardised framework of
quality control of food items of animal
origin
for export or import purposes He said the
laboratory would also take care of Technical
Barriers on Trade (TBT).
Dilating upon the indiscriminate spray of
pesticides on cotton and rice crops,
Professor Dr Khushi Muhammad said as
residues of these pesticides are transformed
to animal or poultry through consumption of
feed containing chemically
contaminated seed cake and the rice.
Professor Dr Khushi Muhammad further added
that some effects such as death, acute
respiratory illness, skin rashes, toxic
hepatitis are
apparently visible while some time hidden
serious effects such as immuno-suppression,
reproductive/fetal abnormalities,
teratogenic, mutagenic /carcinogenic and
reduce growth are not uncommon.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2010
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