State General Laboratory Annual Report 2019

26 State General laboratory Annual Report 2019  Contribution to the combat of food fraud by controlling a number of samples such as honey, olive oils and dairy products  Participation, in cooperation with the Environmental Health Service - Ministry of Health, within the works of the joined Europol-Interpol Operation OPSON VIII, for adulteration control of Food Supplements intended for the loss of weight, with the substance 2,4-Dinitrophenol  Participation, in cooperation with the Environmental Health Services - Ministry of Health, in the "EU Coordinated control plan with a view to establishing the prevalence of fraudulent practices in the marketing of herbs and spices (EU Food Fraud Network)" by carrying out analysis of herbs and spices for detection of unauthorised colours  Participation, in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture of Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, in the EU project OPSON, for the controls for adulteration and authenticity of organic products  By analysing a number of flour and dough samples from the market, in light of a major outbreak in North America from shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) in similar products, followed by a request by WHO for contribution of relevant data by EU countries  Participation in the investigation of three local foodborne outbreaks (from shigella, staphylococcal enterotoxins and unknown etiology, respectively)  Direct contribution to the investigation related to the crime at Memi Lake: Water samples taken from the Memi Lake at Xyliatos were presented for heavy metals determination in order to identify the danger of channeling that water to the environment and additionally in facilitating the missing persons search.  Significant contribution to the decision making of the relevant authority in relation to the water suitability of the Kalavasos dam by investigating a pollution incident through processing of chemical analyses of the dam’s water for heavy metals determination  Direct contribution to the investigation of an emergency pollution incident due to toxicity of the lake at Athalassa’s park that causes the death of its fish inhabitants. For this purpose, repetitive analyses were processed for determining pesticides, volatile organic compounds, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons as well as chlorination multi-products.  Investigation of the toxicity of water from water refineries and water tanks in the Nicosia district  Contribution to the decision making of the relevant Authority on the suitability of new groundwater boreholes and their use as drinking water  Targeted control and investigation for the presence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in water originating from entry and exit points of water tanks and other network points in the Nicosia district that provide water supply to neighbourhoods  Investigation and testing of drinking water from the waterboard’s network for the presence of petrol oil, following a complaint made by a consumer