The Capacities of Laboratories in Serbia for Testing Meat Quality and Safety

Thanks to its content, and primarily due to that of nutrient materials, meat can be found nearly daily in the diet of humans. Predictions indicate that the upcoming period expects to see a rise in both the production and consumption of meat worldwide. However, in addition to satisfying the needs of the consumers in terms of the quantity of meat, it is also important to satisfy their needs when it comes to quality, meat safety, and the reliability of the information provided. Furthermore, it is in the interest of the consumer that the testing of the meat be carried out in accredited laboratories in line with SRPS ISO/IEC 17025:2017. Bearing in mind the great number of parameters which are tested with the aim of determining quality, safety, and meat authenticity, it is the goal of this paper to analyse the capacities of the accredited laboratories for carrying out such tests. By applying the methodology (the Accreditation Body of Serbia’s website was searched), it was determined that 58 laboratories in Serbia have at least one, but more commonly multiple accredited methods which each laboratory can use in order to examine several of the parameters for safety and/or meat quality. It was determined that the capacities of the laboratories, in both the private and the public sectors, for testing the parameters of meat quality and safety in Serbia were sufficient, particularly for the parameters of meat safety which, according to research, is the area which worries consumers the most. What should definitely be a joint task for testing laboratories and the state competent authorities is the development of methods through which meat fraud could be detected.Keywords: meat, safety, quality, fraud, laboratory testing, accreditation.