By Julmunir I. Jannaral
COTABATO CITY
The Bangsamoro Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) has started the renovation of Halal Verification Laboratory (HVL) under the Bangsamoro Standards and Halal Testing Laboratories (BSHTL) to accommodate the high-end equipment and state-of-the-art technology recently procured by the Ministry worth P47 million.
The renovation started earlier this year and is expected to be finished by July 2021. It is located at the old MOST premises inside Bangsamoro Government Center here.
The laboratory consists of the following equipment: Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry-FID (GC/MS/FID), Gas Chromatography Triple Quadruple Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS/MS), Liquid Chromatography Triple Quadruple Mass Spectrometry (LC/MS/MS), Graphite Furnace-Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (GF-AAS), and RT-PCR.
These equipment are capable of ethanol analysis, gelatin analysis, pesticides residue analysis, minerals in food, heavy metals in food and water, meat authenticity, and porcine DNA detection in meat-based products
The HVL of the ministry is one of the four Halal laboratories in the Philippines. The other labs are located in Laguna (DOST-CALABARZON), Koronadal City (DOST-12), and Davao City (DOST-11). These four laboratories are members of the DOST/MOST Halal Verification Laboratories Network.
Minister Aida Silongan said this project fulfills one of the MOST’s mandates to strengthen the development of Halal industry through testing, analysis, and capacity building.
Republic Act No. 10817, also known as the “Philippine Halal Export Development and Promotion Act of 2016,” mandates the inclusion of the Halal program in the agency plans and programs of different government agencies that have jurisdiction and can contribute to the growth of export of Halal products, processes and services. With report from BIO
PHILIPPINE MUSLIM TODAY 