Amman - In the framework of its endeavor to enhance research and service capabilities of its laboratories, NARC introduced two important devices to serve agricultural scientific research, and support the quality of the local agricultural products through laboratory analyses.
"The two devices are funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through the honey bee research project implemented at NARC. NARC introduced an automatic device to check residues of antibiotics that are used in agricultural operations". Dr. Nizar Haddad, the Director General of NARC stated.
This device can, by using multiple testing with Biochip Array Technology, determine the presence and percentage of antibiotic residues through a temporal multi-analyte quantitative screening of a large group of antibiotics in a single sample instead of diagnosing the presence of each antibiotic separately, which in return reduces the costs of analyses and enhances the competitiveness of local products by granting them antibiotic-free certificates if required, with low costs and high speed.
The device can identify antibiotic residues in food products of meat, poultry, milk, dairy products, seafood, fish, grains and their byproducts, honey, and many other food products. This will constitute a paradigm shift in scientific research at NARC and many Jordanian universities, and strengthen the decision-making mechanism, to contribute in the advancement of food quality and safety research positively affecting the health of the Jordanian consumer in the long run.
The Director of the Bee Research Directorate at NARC, Eng. Banan Al-Shagour, said that in order to enhance the competitive advantage of the local product of honey, and to conduct quality research on local and imported honey to detect impurities, NARC introduced a device that is specialized for honey quality techniques and detection of fake honey at low costs compared to the traditional analyses used in local laboratories.
Both devices are considered the fastest in performance, the most accurate in applying standards, and the least expensive. They are the first of their kind to be introduced into the Middle East region, accredited and given quality certificates from food and drug quality institutions in the United States of America and Europe.