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Laboratories play an important role in generating evidence and technologies, providing, through technical assistance and cooperation, technical support for National and Regional Food and Nutrition Programs, including Food Fortification and Quality Assurance Systems, Monitoring and Evaluation of Institutional Feeding Programs and support in the evaluation of the nutritional status in populations that allows timely decision-making on public health issues.
The Comprehensive Analytical Center -IAC- is part of the Nutrition and Micronutrients Unit of the Institute of Nutrition of Central America and Panama, INCAP and is made up of human and technical capacity in Nutritional Biochemistry, Food Composition and Microbiology. The IAC, as INCAP's technical capacity center, is an integral component of the Institute and is aligned with the mission and vision of INCAP and the mandates of the Strategic Health Plan for the Region.
Vision
The IAC is a self-sustaining center that generates and maintains the validity of methodologies and technologies for the generation of scientific and technical evidence and the provision of high-quality services in food and nutrition. IAC is a leader in spearheading technical initiatives that support national efforts to improve nutrition in the region.
Mission
The IAC's mission is to maintain a technical and analytical capacity in the region that allows it to provide cooperation and technical assistance and analytical services in the field of nutrition and food when required by the Countries, and at the same time provide training and assistance to strengthen the technical and analytical capacity of the countries.
¿What is the IAC?
The IAC is responsible for supporting, with Technical Assistance and Cooperation and specific analytical components, the actions generated by the member countries to assess and improve the nutritional situation of the population of its Member Countries. It functions as a specialized and decentralized Center in analytical methodologies in Nutrition and Food for national laboratories, thus maintaining in the region an updated analytical capacity and methodologies not available in other laboratories. Provides specialized technical assistance and provides analytical services in the Nutritional Biochemistry Laboratory, Chemistry and Food Microbiology Laboratory; promotes the strengthening of the analytical capacity and quality management of the laboratories of the Member countries through the work of the Regional Network of laboratories and continuous training programs for technical and professional personnel; conducts research on topics relevant to Nutrition, Food and Food Safety.
In particular, IAC generates scientific and technical evidence, develops and refines technologies, providing technical support for national and regional Food and Nutritional Surveillance programs. Among them, support for Food Fortification Programs and their Quality Assurance Systems, Monitoring and Evaluation of Institutional Feeding Programs, Evaluation of the nutritional status in populations, which allow timely decision-making in public health, stands out.
Laboratory professionals play an essential role in technology transfer in all areas involved in the activities of the Food and Nutrition Institute. It has the analytical capacity regarding the analysis of biochemical indicators and the determination of the quality of the food consumed, both in terms of nutritional composition, as well as fortification and general quality of the same.
Among the outstanding strengths of the Laboratory, in its regional character, are the ability to provide:
- Comprehensive Technical Assistance, which does not compete with the analytical services that other institutions can provide, with an approach to nutrition and food issues with a regional vision.
- Specialized tests in the Nutrition area, which are not performed in any other laboratory in the region
- Comprehensive Training Packages
- Program for the evaluation of the competence of laboratories to carry out micronutrient analyzes in fortified foods (Program of Aptitude Tests for Fortified Foods, PEAFF).
Laboratory Work Lines
- The Laboratory fulfills the 5 institutional functions mentioned, working transversally on the issues or lines of work:
- Micronutrients: Food Fortification, Nutritionally Enhanced Foods, Supplementation, deficiencies and excesses, Nutritional Assessment
- Public Policies in Public Health and Nutrition: Programs for food quality and safety, Food Safety, Water
- Quality Control
- Consumer Protection and Education: Food certification that allows users and consumers to identify foods with a high nutritional value and innocuous; Nutrition labeling. Food Legislation and Regulations
Quality Management Systems: Competence of laboratories, prerequisites and HACCP system.
- Chronic diseases
- Relationship between infection and nutrition
- Support for the competitiveness of small and medium-sized food companies to achieve their access and sustainability in national, regional and international markets by complying with quality and safety standards for trade, for the protection of the final consumer.
Specific objectives
Provide specialized technical assistance and training in the area of Nutrition and Food Conduct research on relevant topics for the laboratory and the Institute. Strengthen and expand the analytical capacity in each country, through regional cooperation between laboratories and the establishment of alliances between the members of the network. Improve the quality of the results produced, through External Quality Assessment Programs in food analysis and biochemical indicators. of nutritional status. Identify and mobilize the necessary resources for its operation and the strengthening of the analytical capacity of the Region, in Nutrition and Food.
IAC Services
- Specialized technical advice
- Theoretical-practical training
- Investigation and development
- Biochemical-nutritional analysis in human fluids.
- Microbiological analysis of foodNutritional chemical analysis of food
- Nutritional labelingManagement and analysis of informationTransfer of methods and technologies
- Research
- Proficiency program for inter-laboratory comparisons for fortified foods -PEAAF-
- Quality systems Quality control and external performance evaluationSensory analysis of food
- General coordination of the Regional Network of Food and Nutritional Biochemistry Laboratories
Users of the INCAP Laboratory at the national and regional levels
- Ministries of Health of the member countries and other instances of the governmental sector of the countries
- National Laboratories of member countries
- National Micronutrient Commissions
- Regional Entities: CORMAF, Regional Laboratory Network
- Consumer Protection Entities and other non-governmental organizations
- Other INCAP Units
- International Cooperation Organizations, such as PAHO, UNICEF, WFP
- Universities, Research Institutes and Academic Sector
- International Scientific Community
- Private Laboratories
- Producers of fortified foods, micronutrient premixes, nutritional supplements
- Central American Food Industry
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