KARACHI: Two international assessors from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations visited the International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS), University of Karachi, on Monday evening.
The delegation, comprising Ms. Oumou Barry and Mr. Martin Rose, is on a visit to Karachi and other parts of Sindh as part of the Food Control Systems Assessment. They were received by Prof. Dr. Muhammad Raza Shah, Director of the ICCBS, along with senior officials of the center.
During the meeting, Prof. Shah briefed the delegation on the institution’s wide-ranging scientific and research initiatives. He highlighted the role of the Industrial Analytical Center (IAC) in food analysis, noting its recognition as an approved laboratory by the Indonesian Agricultural Quarantine Agency (IAQA) for import and export samples. The IAC is also designated as a Drug Testing and Food Testing Laboratory by the Sindh Health Department.
The delegation was informed that ICCBS, a premier research institution of the University of Karachi and a Category-2 Centre under UNESCO, plays a vital role in training scholars globally in chemical, biological, and biochemical sciences.
The FAO representatives outlined details of the Food Control Systems Assessment project and reviewed relevant data with ICCBS experts regarding laboratory analytical capacity. They also toured the ICCBS laboratories and appreciated the state-of-the-art research facilities, acknowledging the institution’s role in advancing food safety.
The experts expressed hope that the visit would pave the way for new avenues of collaboration between FAO and ICCBS.
