As Palestine moves toward self-governing, it becomes clear that its economic growth and the prosperity of its people to a large extent depend on strengthening and enhancing agricultural productivity and food security and biosafety. In particular, the issue of food biosafety is broad and complex. A large proportion of food products sold in Palestine markets are directly imported or produced from imported precursors. Numerous factors such as the lack of clear mechanisms to regulate food imports and the lack of qualified personnel and designated facilities to allow the detection and identification of contaminated food products impacts people’s health and sustainable food security. Genetically modified organisms (GMO) and food products contaminated with pathogens, for example, can find their way undetected in the market place
The Biotechnology Research Center has recognized the pivotal role of food biosafety for Palestine economic and social development and proposed to carry research, service and training specifically focused on relevant issues pertaining to food security and biosafety in Palestine. Through the use of modern biotechnology techniques, BRC will bring about unprecedented opportunities in the efforts to solve intractable problems related to food biosafety and human health, as well as problems related to agricultural productivity and sustainability. It will cover issues related to GMO, abiotic and biotic contamination in food products, including methods used for detection and risk assessment sfdand management. It is expected that this research will benefit Palestine through the following avenues
.Provide the Ministries of Health and Agriculture with reference tests relevant to food biosafety, particularly for imported food products
.Provide tests for local food industries and farmers as independent references for their product quality ensurance
.Help farmers and food industries raising the standards of their products, thus enhancing their competition for the international food market
Researchers: Rami Arafeh, Zaid Altarda