Labs Rated Among the Best in Region

Jamaica’s diagnostic laboratories have been rated among the best in the region, says Senior Veterinary Officer and Technical Manager in the Veterinary Services Division of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Dr. Winthorph Marsden.

“A study was done in the Caribbean about five years ago and a consultant from the European Union went to all Caribbean diagnostic laboratories and Jamaica was rated as having the best diagnostic lab within the entire Caribbean region,”  he told a  JIS ‘Think Tank’, today (March 31).

“This supersedes the diagnostic lab that is at the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus,” Dr. Marsden added.

Jamaica’s laboratories have been upgraded to better test products to comply with European standards as part of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) Capacity Building Project.

The project, which is funded by the European Union and managed by the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), is being implemented in two phases in the sum of €2.25 million  (J$313 million) and €5 million (J$695 million), respectively.

Phase one of the project, EPA 1, seeks to increase export competitiveness and food safety and security for Jamaican products, the provision of equipment and the training of staff.

The Microbiology, Residue Testing and Parasitological laboratories of the Veterinary Services Division are expected to be ISO 17025 accredited shortly.