Minister of Health Dr. Abdulla Khaleel has revealed that a state-of-the-art health laboratory will be established during the term. The land necessary for the development has already been secured and handed over to the Ministry of Health.
Food safety has not received adequate attention in the Maldives, largely due to the absence of a proper laboratory. However, with the implementation of the new Food Safety Act, the health ministry is now mandated to establish a laboratory capable of conducting all food-related tests and analyses.
Discussing the impact of the new Act, Minister Khaleel emphasised that the laboratory will be equipped to analyse food, medicines, and other public health concerns. He said the development of the lab is part of the project's first phase, with the design expected to be finalised soon. He said that the land has been allocated, and the laboratory will be established to ensure the highest standards in food safety and the testing of medicines and public health issues.
The Food Safety Act requires that the new laboratory be capable of testing food imported into or exported from the Maldives, as well as food produced domestically. The laboratory must also have the capacity to assess the health and safety of food manufacturing and packaging facilities, warehouses, storage facilities, and food vendors.
The law stipulates that the tests and standards to be upheld by the laboratory, which will operate under the Maldives Food and Drug Authority (MFDA), must be detailed in a regulation. The Act also authorises the MFDA to establish guidelines ensuring that tests which cannot be conducted in the Maldives can be carried out either in another local laboratory or at referral laboratories abroad.
Currently, food imports by sea are tested in the MPL harbour area, while airfreight food is inspected at Velana International Airport (VIA). Some necessary scientific analyses are also conducted at the MFDA laboratory, with additional tests being sent abroad.