State General Laboratory Annual Report 2018

28 State General laboratory Annual Report 2018 FUTURE GOALS The SGL seeks to substantially respond to the continuous scientific challenges, the new requirements of the EU legislation and the various emerging issues while having as a driving force for the accomplishment of these targets its highly professional and dedicated staff. Based on the above, the following future goals have been set by the SGL: 1. Response to increasing monitoring and control requirements in areas of its competence and continuous improvement of its services. 2. Continuous development of its human resources and completion of its reorganisation and consolidation of its scientific excellence with permanent scientific staff. 3. Continuous provision of timely, reliable, scientifically based information to the competent Authorities, the Parliament, the media, various stakeholders and the public at large. 4. Expansion and support for the following:  Targeted educational programmes for all stakeholders, including the private sector, with the aim of protecting public health through prevention and improving the socioeconomic development of the country.  Networking with European centers of excellence and research institutes and organisations, with the aim of enhancing its scientific role at the EU level.  Establishment of the SGL as a Centre of expertise and excellence at a national, regional and European level. 5. Further strengthening of the following:  Coordination and collaboration between competent Authorities for more efficient and effective official controls.  Food Safety Council’s (FSC) activities, especially with the continuous improvement of its "Improrisk" deterministic model for the food risk assessment of the population at individual level, as well as with the required risk assessment studies and better exploitation of the results of official controls.  Cyprus National Addictions Authority activities.  Applied research mostly through utilisation of EU funds (Since 2004 the SGL has already absorbed a total of nine million euros). 6. Processing and exploitation of the results of the first official national pancyprian dietary survey in the framework of the "EU MENU" project of EFSA (2013-2018); its data are to be used in risk assessment studies for the Cypriot population exposure to various chemicals through food. 7. Strengthening the close cooperation with relevant competent Authorities to initiate the construction of the SGL’s new building. A new building will reflect its high scientific level as a center of expertise and excellence at the national, regional and European level.