One of the main conditions due to which “NIBULON” enjoys confidence at the state and international levels is a compliance with the high quality standards of agricultural commodities. All required conditions were created to get quick and accurate results in the process of determining the quality of commodities. The chemical-technological laboratory (CTL), located in the territory of the transshipment terminal in Mykolayiv city, was certified successfully and put into operation at the end of 2010. The laboratory for GMO determination was equipped with a device of the company “Applied Biosystems” (the USA). In order to determine GMO and to get reliable results there are used reagents of such companies as: “Macherey-Nagel”, “Applied Biosystems”, “R- Biofarm”. Despite the laboratory for GMO determination is quite young, its experts have a lot to be proud of: among 26 European laboratories, taken part in the international round FAPAS, “NIBULON’s” laboratory was the only representative from Ukraine and took the 3rd place; during the Ukrainian rounds in Kyiv and Kharkiv cities “NIBULON’s” experts in determination of heavy metals took the 9th place out of 64 and experts in environmental matters – the 6th place out of 44 respectively. The CTL experts perform analyses to determine GMO content in foodstuffs and agricultural raw materials. Firstly, the qualitative analysis of commodities is performed and then the quantitative one. Sometimes on delivering the raw material abroad it is necessary to determine the belonging of agricultural commodities to a definite range and the laboratory’s staff always performs such a procedure successfully. Modern equipment of the laboratory allows to perform analyses by safety indices. The determination of heavy metals (zinc, copper, cadmium, lead, mercury, arsenic) in the agricultural raw material is performed using an atomic absorption spectrophotometer produced by “Varian” cvompany. In the CTL a content of mycotoxins (zearalenone, deoxynivalenol, T-2, ochratoxins, aflatoxins) is determined. All researches are performed according to the Ukrainian standards. In case the EU or country of origin requires to determine mycotoxins, experts of the laboratory can provide with all the required information. The determination of mycotoxins is performed according to two modern methods, namely the method of high-performance liquid chromatography, using equipment of the German company “DIONEX”, and the method of immune-enzyme analysis using equipment of the American company “BioTech”. The laboratory for determination of radionuclides and residual pesticides was established at the end of 2011 and certified in March, 2012 successfully. The determination of residual pesticides is performed using a gas chromatograph of the company “Adjilent” (the USA) and the determination of radionuclides is performed using domestic equipment of the company “Atom Kompleks Prylad”. Experts of the chemical-technological laboratory improve their skills constantly. Last year experts in determination of radionuclides, pesticides, and mycotoxins were trained in Chabany town of Kyiv region. Experts of a narrow specialization who also took refresher courses work in the laboratory for GMO determination. Generally, our experts have a possibility to define: all indices of wheat and bakery products, presence of toxins in commodities, indices of soils, air, and water quality (underground water, waste water, fresh water quality); GMO presence, heavy metals presence in foodstuffs; noise and radiation levels and level of exhaust gases of vehicles, etc. There are no analogs of such complexes in Ukraine.
