LABORATORY FOR GMO DETECTION OPENED IN ZAGREB

ZAGREB, Sept 4 (Hina) - The first Croatian laboratory for the detection of genetically modified organisms (GMO) was opened in Zagreb on Thursday by Health Minister Andro Vlahusic and Agriculture and Forestry Minister Bozidar Pankretic. #L# The laboratory, which is part of the Public Health Institute, cost some 2.5 million kuna, with funding secured by the health, agriculture and environmental protection ministries. The laboratory was built and equipped with the help of experts at the Joint Research Centre from Ispra in Italy, the European Union's reference laboratory for GMO detection where Croatian experts underwent training. Croatia is among the few countries in Central and East Europe with such a laboratory, Minister Pankretic said, announcing the establishment of the steering council of the Food Agency and the appointment of its management structure. The laboratory is a key instrument in implementing regulations related to GMO, and the Law on Food envisages that all food products must be approved before they are placed on the market, said the head of the Institute's Epidemiology Service, Krunoslav Capak. Capak said the laboratory could not be run on a commercial basis since one GMO test costs 125,000 euros. The laboratory will test raw and finished food products and cattle feed. The new law on food, which includes regulations on GMO in human and cattle food, took effect in July 2003. (hina) rml