President Bachelet Opened a Modern Center of Organic Waste of Fundación Chile
The president visited the new facilities and equipment of the Center of Chemical Metrology, which has been nominated as Center of Official Reference on Water and Food. .
In order to contribute to the leadership of the country on agrifood exports, Fundación Chile has finished the improvement stage in infrastructure, equipment and specialization of the human team of the Center of Chemical Metrology, which has been nominated as Center of Official Reference on Water and Food. This new value offer represents a high level technological support for the sectors exporting their products to highly demanding markets, as to quality and food safety.
President Michelle Bachelet opened today the new facilities and the renewed equipment of this Center of Chemical Metrology on Water and Food of Fundacion Chile. The improvement considered an investment of 4 million of euros, half coming from funds that support the Commercial Agreement with the European Union, and two other managed by Fundación Chile, through Innova Chile (Corfo), Fondef (Conicyt) and own contributions. Restatement and specialization of the human staff has been focused on the most promising export products: salmon and aquatic products, fruit, red and white meats, dairy, agroindustrial products and wines.
Reliability on the measurement of waste on food will be guaranteed through the support that the Center gives to private laboratories which work with export companies, as well as public entities with regulatory and auditing responsibility. At the same time, as result of its presence at international level, the contents of components as antibiotics, metals or pesticides will be assured to be comparable to the results of the target markets.
According to Oscar Guillermo Garretón, President of Fundación Chile, “this represents an obligation for the consolidation y expansion of the Chilean exports to the most demanding markets, as well as a key competitive advantage in the implementation of a strategy to transform Chile as a food power”.
The development of the “International traceability and Comparability of the Chemical Measurements and Supervision of Market Risks for the Main Export Food Products” Project was vital for the international recognition of the Center”, cofinanced by the Association Agreement Application Fund between Chile and the European Union, coordinated by the International Cooperation Agency, AGCI, and enforced by the Ministry of Economy and Fundación Chile.
The Ambassador Jaime Pérez Vidal, head of the European Comission Delegation in Chile said that the EU-Chile Association Agreement Application Fund “is a fundamental tool of cooperation to foster an Agreement that strengthens the relation between associates in equal conditions between the EU and Chile”. He also emphasized that the progress reached with this Project on food traceability will benefit the export sector as well as the consumers.
The Center of Chemical Metrology of Fundación Chile has worked together with the National Institutes of Metrology of the countries of main destination of Chilean food exports, as well as the LGC in the United Kingdom, the NIST of the United Status and the NCR of Canada, among others.
The human team accounts for 17 highly qualified professionals, 14 of them women, including 4 Doctors in Chemistry, biochemists and chemists.
