Yangju City’s Agricultural Product Safety Analysis Laboratory Named ‘Excellent’ for Fourth Consecutive Year in International Analytical Competency Evaluation

Yangju City in Gyeonggi Province announced on the 23rd that its Agricultural Product Safety Analysis Laboratory has been designated as an excellent institution in the 'International Analytical Competency Evaluation (FAPAS: Food Analysis Performance Assessment Scheme)' organized by the UK's Food Environment Research Agency under the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs.

Yangju City, Agricultural Product Safety Analysis Laboratory Achieves Excellence in International Proficiency Testing for Four Consecutive Years. Photo by Yangju City

'FAPAS' is an international proficiency testing program in which government agencies, research institutes, and private analytical organizations from around the world participate to assess the accuracy and reliability of analyses in more than 10 areas, including pesticide residues and water quality.

This year's evaluation included participation from 60 organizations worldwide. The results submitted, after analyzing the samples provided, are converted into a standard score (Z-Score), and a score within ±2.0 is deemed 'satisfactory.'

The Agricultural Product Safety Analysis Laboratory of Yangju City submitted analysis results for 11 pesticide components in apple samples this year, all of which received a 'satisfactory' evaluation.

A Yangju City official stated, "For Lenacil, one of the pesticide components we submitted in this evaluation, we received a '0.0' score, once again proving that our pesticide residue analysis capabilities are at a world-class level. We continue to rigorously manage the safety of agricultural production."

The Yangju Agricultural Technology Center established the Agricultural Product Safety Analysis Laboratory in 2021 and has been offering free pesticide residue testing services to local farmers.

Additionally, prior to shipment, the center conducts preemptive pesticide residue analysis on agricultural products such as cucumbers and zucchini, which are representative crops of Yangju City, including those distributed through three local Nonghyup Local Food outlets in the city, to ensure the safety of agricultural products.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.