The Pesticide Residue Research and Analytical Laboratory, under the All India Network Project on Pesticide Residues, College of Agriculture (CoA), Vellayani, Thiruvananthapuram, has been accorded ISO 17025: 2005 accreditation by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL).

The accreditation is a vital and pertinent development in Kerala as it is the only accredited lab under the state government. The accreditation will now help easy analysis of pesticide residue for fruits and vegetables in the state and at affordable prices.

The accreditation empowers the Vellayani lab to conduct pesticide residual tests as per international guidelines and issue authentic and reliable test results along with the NABL logo.

The Kerala Agricultural University's (KAU) laboratory is accredited for performing analysis of diverse samples for estimation of pesticide residues. It is adequately equipped with imported sophisticated equipment like LC-MS (Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectroscopy), GC-MS (Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectroscopy) and MS (Mass Spectroscopy).

The scope of the laboratory covers most of the OC (Organochlorines), OP (Organophosphates), synthetic pyrethroid and new molecules of pesticides in commodities like fruits, vegetables, cereals, pulses, surface water and ground water. The services of the laboratory are available to the public at a nominal charge compared to the private laboratories.

For the purpose of accreditation, the laboratory has been scrutinized at different stages to assess its managerial and technical competence and functioning under a transparent and traceable system which can be audited by any authorized official in the managerial and technical review committee.

The accreditation to a lab is given on the basis of its capability to perform tests/calibration and provide accurate and reliable results. Laboratory accreditation provides formal recognition of the competent labs, thus providing ready means for customers to find reliable testing and calibration services in order to meet their demands.

A team of qualified and trained personnel are currently working in the laboratory for providing timely services of credible analytical results.

NABL, an autonomous body under the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, is the national nodal agency for testing and calibration laboratories has been established with the objective to provide third party assessment of the quality and technical competence of testing and calibration laboratories in accordance with the international standard ISO 17025: 2005.