Prof. Dr. Islam Abu Al-Magd, the chairman of the National Authority for Remote Sensing and Space Science (NARSS) visited the Central Laboratory of Residue Analysis of Pesticides and Heavy Metals in Food at Agricultural Research Center (ARC).

Prof. Dr. Islam Abu Al-Magd, the chairman of the National Authority for Remote Sensing and Space Science (NARSS) visited the Central Laboratory of Residue Analysis of Pesticides and Heavy Metals in Food at Agricultural Research Center (ARC).

Prof. Abu Al-Magd followed the services of Central Laboratory of Residue Analysis of Pesticides and Heavy Metals in Food, the first accredited laboratory for food safety analyses in Egypt.

·       The two sides discussed the cooperation between (NARSS) and (ARC).

·       Prof. Islam Abu Al-Magd: NARSS has the expertise and potentialities to assist the development of National agricultural sectors in many aspects.

·       Prof. Adel Abdel-Azim explained the importance of cooperating with academic and research institutions to exchange experiences and improve skills to serve the agricultural sector.

Dr. Islam Abu Al-Magd, chairman of the National Authority for Remote Sensing and Space Sciences, and delegation from NARSS made an inspection visit to the Agricultural Research Center headed by Dr. Adel Abdel-Azim, chairman of ARC, and in the presence of Dr. Hind Abdellah, director of the Central Laboratory for the Analysis of Residues of Pesticides and Heavy Element in Food, within the framework of the efforts of the authority to cooperate with all governmental and private academic and research centers to exchange experiences and constructive cooperation, and to discuss various aspects of cooperation between the two sides.

Dr. Islam Abu Al-Magd stressed that the Authority has a variety of expertise and services which it can participate in the development of the agricultural sustainable development issues. He expressed his full willing to cooperate with the Agricultural Research Center. He also expressed his great pleasure in visiting the laboratory as one of the most important research laboratories working in the field of food safety in Egypt and the Middle East.

The Chairman Agricultural Research Center (ARC) Dr. Adel Abdel-Azim pointed out the importance of cooperating with academic and research agencies to exchange experiences and raise skills to serve the agricultural sector. He explained that the central laboratory for the analysis of pesticide residues was one of the bodies of the Centre for Agricultural Research under the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Rehabilitation, and that the Centre and its affiliates were constantly seeking to cooperate with all governmental and private agencies and bodies involved in the servicing of the agricultural sector and food processing in Egypt.

The visit raised different topics for cooperation between the two sides and. There was also a discussion of implementing these proposals and launching them through the work of a protocol of cooperation between the two parties.

Dr. Islam Abu Al-Magd and his delegation were guided by Dr. Hind Abdellah to visit the various departments of the laboratory and the various services provided by the laboratory. The mission of the laboratory is the analysis of samples of agricultural, food and environmental products of exports, imports and local markets, as well as reviewing the role of each department in the laboratory in detecting the pollutants it measures and the number of tests approved by each department to serve Egyptian exports, imports and local markets and to meet the requirements of local, regional and international markets.

Dr. Hind Abdellah explained that the Central Pesticide Residue Analysis Laboratory is the first accredited laboratory to conduct food safety analysis in Egypt and that it has international certification according to the ISO 17025 system FINAS and the American Accreditation Authority A2LA to the same specification in order to confirm the quality of the laboratory in all its services, noting that this makes the laboratory one of the most important laboratories in Egypt, the Middle East and Africa. She explained that the laboratory contains the most developed devices that are used in the best international laboratories. The laboratory, according to Dr. Hend Abdullah, includes an integrated team that has the best distinguished expertise and highly trained. She added that the most important role of the laboratory is maintaining the safety of consumers in Egypt through its participation in the export control system. It also has an effective role by analyzing some imports to Egypt from agricultural crops and food of plant and animal origin.  

Dr. Islam Abu Al-Magd was accompanied during his visit to the laboratory by the Authority, Dr. Abdulaziz Bilal, head of the Agricultural Applications, Soil and Marine Sciences Division, Dr. Mohamed Abooelghar, head of the Agricultural Applications Department, Dr. Dalia Al-Fiqi, head of the Department of Structures, Thermal Control and Space Environment, Dr. Mona Yunis, head of the Information Office Committee of the Authority, and the meeting was attended by the center, Dr. Emad Ramadan, Director of Quality at the factory, Dr. Tahir Kadah, head of the Marketing Department of the factory, and Dr. Mahmoud Al-Sisi, director of the laboratory's training center.