Dear readers, through the annual report of the State General Laboratory (SGL) for 2022, I am pleased to present to you an assessment of its work, which the management team and its staff completed with a deep sense of responsibility. The stable and continuous effort to implement the national strategic objectives to protect public health, the environment, the safety of citizens and the consumer’s interests is demonstrated within the wide range of activities of the SGL during 2022. 2022 was a year with many challenges and obligations, where the SGL, amongst other, managed: y To respond effectively to official control requirements in the areas of food safety and quality, environmental protection (including drinking water) and consumer products, and to support the Police in the fight against crime, by conducting a significant number of laboratory tests. y To meet the requests of the competent authorities in different ministries, governmental departments and municipalities, dealing with emergencies, incidents and crises that fall under its competence. y To effectively utilise its financial resources and absorb national and European funds for applied research, for the benefit of its further development as an organisation. y To exploit all possible forms of cooperation at national, European and international level to effectively achieve its goals. The SGL, both as a Public Service Department and a well-recognised scientific research centre, through the continuous development of innovative and modern methodologies and approaches, within the framework of its strategic objectives and priorities, managed to further upgrade its services and, at the same time, to develop its scientific knowledge and improve its expertise in the areas of its competence. In the framework of the Public Administration Reform and the implementation of the new Public Financial Management System, the SGL continued with the development and implementation of its strategic planning, as well as with the parallel monitoring of the implementation of its activity-based budget. To this purpose, it has implemented appropriate performance indicators for the timely monitoring, implementation and final evaluation of its performance. In November 2022, a certificate of excellent performance was awarded to the SGL because the laboratory was among the top three laboratories with the lowest average z-score in the proficiency test: “Vegetable-based food for Al, As, Cd, Pb and nitrate”, organised by the European Union Reference Laboratory for Metals and Nitrogenous Compounds in Feed and Food (EURL-MN-in food). The most important activities that marked the work of the SGL in 2022, among others, were the following: 1. Continuation of its official control for the surveillance of the Cypriot market for the safety and quality of the food and other consumer products, for the protection of the environment, and contribution to the fight against crime. 2. Continuation of its active involvement in EU research projects (e.g. “Enhancing the existing isotopic databases of Cypriot local traditional food/drinks, by developing a blockchain platform, to ensure their identity-IsoDataBase”, “Human bio-monitoring”, INTRODUCTORY NOTE by the Director of the State General Laboratory
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTUzMzM1NQ==