Laboratory of Food Composition, Food Quality and Nutritional Value

Mission: Official control and monitoring of foodstuffs for quality and safety assessment as regards their Composition, Adulteration and Nutritional claims, so as to promote consumer’s health and interests as well as fair trade and Good Manufacture Practices (GMPs), in order to assist the promotion of healthy diets, based on sound laboratory data. Objective: The monitoring for compliance with the relevant food legislation (covers a wide range of foodstuffs such as Dairy products (i.e. chaloumi & cheese), Fats & Oils (is margarines & olive oil), Honey, Fish, Jams etc. for their composition. Besides the usual micro - and macro components, additional parameters have been included in the programmes, which are thought to either promote (e.g. ω3-ω6 fatty acids, aminoacids, total dietary fibre, minerals, trace elements, phytosterols) or adversely affect (e.g. cholesterol, saturated fatty acids) the human health. The data collected is also used to enrich the National Food Composition Database (FCD) and Food Composition Tables (FCT). This need has been recognized as a result of the increased concern, given to healthy diets, the gaps and inaccuracies in existing FCD and the high prevalence in Cyprus of coronary heart diseases and cancer, which are both related to unhealthy nutrition and unsafe food consumption. As a result of this work, the laboratory has published the Food Composition Tables in 1994 and in 1999. In 2012 the SGL has published the 3rd edition which includes traditional Cyprus dishes and desserts.