NATIONAL AGRICULTURE QUARANTINE AND INSPECTION AUTHORITY

The NAHFTL is an official government laboratory testing facility responsible for delivering laboratory services including food safety and veterinary diagnostic testing and related services to the food and agriculture sector in Papua New Guinea. It supports food safety inspection for compliance for export certification and animal health disease surveillance, monitoring, control, and eradication programs. The scope of laboratory services encompasses, terrestrial and aquatic animal health, endemic and exotic diseases, animal production diseases, veterinary public health including zoonoses and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and, research. The scope of testing is dependent on the PNG List of Priority Food and Feed Safety Related Risks and the PNG List of Notifiable Terrestrial and Aquatic Animal Health Diseases as prescribed by the Office of the Chief Veterinary Officer (OCVO). 

The National Animal Health and Food Testing Laboratory operates in accordance with its Quality Management System (QMS) which is adopted from the international standard, ‘ISO 17025:2017 - General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration of laboratories’. The virtues of this system focus on (1) Quality, (2) Impartiality, (3) Confidentiality and (4) Risk Assessments.

The National Animal Health and Food Testing Laboratory maintains biosafety and biosecurity through the adoption and implementation of its Biorisk Management System (BMS) which is adopted from the International Standard ISO 35001:2019 – Biorisk management for laboratories and other related organisations with focus on (1) laboratory staff safety or biosafety, (2) biocontainment of infectious and potential infectious materials and (3) responsible waste management.

Information (download link)

• Customer Service Information Booklet for the Food Testing Laboratory
• Veterinary Specimen Advice Card (Yellow Card)
• Test Request Forms for the Food Testing Laboratory
• Laboratory fees and charges (NAQIA Fees and Charges Schedule)

National collaborative partners

• National Fisheries Authority (NFA)
• National Department of Agriculture and Livestock (NDAL)
• National Agriculture Research Institute (NARI)
• National Department of Health (NDoH)
• Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research (PNGIMR)
• Central Public Health Laboratory (CPHL)
• National Institute of Standards and Industrial Technology (NISIT)

International collaboration

• World Organization for Animal Health (OIE)
• Department of Agriculture, Water and Environment (DAWE) Australia
• Food and Agriculture of the United Nations, PNG Country Office (FAOPG)
• The Pacific Horticultural and Agricultural Market Access Program (PHAMA Plus)
• The Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR)
• The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness (ACDP)
• European Union (EU)
• International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), PNG National Liaison Office (NLO)
• Fleming Fund United Kingdom Department of Health
• University of Melbourne
• Burnet Institute

Projects

• European Union Trade Related Assistance to Papua New Guinea Phase 1, 2009 – 2011
• European Union Trade Related Assistance to Papua New Guinea Phase 2, 2015 – 2019
• Food Animal Biosecurity Network (FABN), James Cook University, 23 March 2011 – 31 March 2014
  Aquatic Biosecurity Capacity building in Papua New Guinea: Sustainable Pacific aquaculture development for food security and economic growth, Pacific Community (SPC), 2016 - 2020
• A One Health Approach to Establish Surveillance Strategies for Japanese Encephalitis and Zoonotic Arboviruses in Papua New Guinea with component to developing veterinary diagnostic laboratory capacity to detect African Swine Fever, January 2020 – 30 June 2021
• Fleming Fund PNG Country Grant Project (FFCG), Burnet Institute, January 2020 – September 2021
• Fleming Fund Professional Fellowship (FFF), University of Melbourne, November 2019 – August 2021
• International Atomic Energy Association (IAEA), PAP2020003: Improving Reporting of Incidence and Prevalence of Animal Health and Diseases using Nuclear-Derived Techniques. 2022 – 2023