MOST-BARMM allots P500,000 to renovate Halal verification lab
BANGSAMORO NEWS UPDATES • 17:30 PM Mon Jun 7, 2021
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By:
BIO-BARMM
COTABATO CITY — Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) allotted P500,000 million for the renovation of Halal Verification Laboratory (HVL) under the Bangsamoro Standards and Halal Testing Laboratories (BSHTL) to accommodate the P47 million worth of high-end equipment and state-of-the-art technology for Halal verification testing.
The renovation started earlier this year and will be finished by July 2021. It is located at the old MOST premises inside Bangsamoro Government Center in Cotabato City.
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 (4) 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 (4) 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.
Also, the RA 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. (Bangsamoro Information Office)