Aquaculture contributes significantly to the country’s food supply, employment and national income. However, the continuous use of surface waters as sink for domestic and industrial wastes introduces hazardous toxic elements in the aquatic environment. These toxic elements make their way in biological systems such as the country’s primary aquacultural produce. With consumers and regulatory bodies wary of their health, it is important that local testing laboratories receiving aquatic food samples are capable of accurately determining the concentrations of toxic elements in these matrices. One method is through participation in proficiency testing schemes. This project aims to conduct an accuracy-based proficiency testing scheme for the local testing laboratories in the Philippines that will provide them an avenue to evaluate their technical competence and ensure that their methods are yielding accurate and reliable results.
The project aims to enhance the capability of local laboratories in the Philippines for the determination of toxic elements in milkfish, specifically to undertake method development and validation for toxic elements (Pb, Cd, As, Hg) in milkfish; produce one (1) batch of proficiency test items for toxic elements (Pb, Cd, As, Hg) in milkfish in accordance with ISO 17034; and conduct accuracy-based proficiency testing (PT) scheme, aligned with ISO 17043, for the local testing laboratories in the Philippines