FOOD PESTICIDE CHECKING LABORATORY OPENS IN YEREVAN
Noyan Tapan
Nov 25, 2008
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 25, NOYAN TAPAN. A food pecticide checking laboratory
opened at the Republican Veterinary Diagnostic Center on November 25
with the financing of Hellinic Aid Unit of the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs of Greece. The Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan and
the Minister of Agriculture Aramais Grigorian attended the opening
ceremony. The laboratory was created on the initiative of the
ARF’s Armenian National Committee of Greece. The Greek government
has allocated 230 thousand euros for the laboratory equipped with
modern equipment.
The prime minister stated that thanks to the laboratory, the ministry
of agriculture will be able to tell the public which fruit and
vegetables grown in Armenia do not contain harmful substances. So
far the country did not have such a well-equipped laboratory which
would allow to determine the future effect of chemical substances used
in fruit growing on users. T. Sargsyan underlined the importance of
this initiative as in 2009 it is envisaged increasing the share of
agriculture both in Armenian GDP and consumer goods.
Professor of Agricultural University of Athens Sergo Harutyunian said
that both domestically produced foodstuffs and agricultural products
and imported ones will be checked at the laboratory. "The shares of
about 100 chemical weed and pest killers that foodstuffs may contain
will be checked at this lab. If their content exceeds the established
amount, the given foodstuff or agricultural product will be banned from
being sold in market," S. Harutyunian said. In his words, after being
examined at the laboratory, foodstuffs to be exported from Armenia
will receive a certificate of correspondence to European standards.
S. Harutyunian announced that the program will be of continuous
character, and with the financing of the Greek government a laboratory
for examination of various drinks will open in Yerevan, and an animal
food manufacturing plant will operate in 2009.