By Fortunato Sevilla III
A symposium on Quality Assurance in Analytical and Testing Laboratories was held on 10 April 2014 during one session of the 29th Philippine Chemistry Congress in Villa Caceres in Naga. It was organized by the Kapisanang Kimika ng Pilipinas – Division of Analytical Sciences (KKP-DAS) in cooperation with the Philippine Federation of Chemistry Societies (PFCS).
The symposium opened with a keynote lecture presented by Dr. Aida Aguinaldo, a consultant of ASEAN Food Data Systems, on “Philippine Analytical / Testing Laboratories and ASEAN 2015”. Dr. Aguinaldo highlighted the challenge to meet the demand for quality analytical and testing data as basis for important decisions, particularly as the commencement of an ASEAN community approaches in 2015.
A series of talks on best practices and outcomes were delivered by speakers from a number of industry and testing laboratories. The speakers highlighted success stories, problems and adopted solutions in Philippine analytical and testing laboratories. The talks focused on the various important topics involved in quality assurance. Noel Lopena, quality assurance manager of San Miguel Brewery, discussed “Method Validation”, as practiced in their laboratories. Patricia Parales, laboratory manager of F.A.S.T. Laboratories talked on good practices in the “Calibration of Laboratory Equipment”. Benilda Ebarvia of the DOST- Industrial Technology Development Institute shared her experience on the “Development Of A Proficiency Testing / Reference Material For Benzoic Acid In Fruit Juices”.
A talk on “Measurement Uncertainty in Chemical Analysis” was presented by Rubylene Lasmarinas-Osila , Technical Manager, Manila Geochem, SGS Philippines Inc. The importance of “Internal Quality Control” was discussed by Frances Evelyn Palaris-Robles , Technical Director of the Philippine Chamber of Pharmaceutical Industry, Inc. and of the Association of Drug Industries of the Philippines Quality Control Cooperative). “Proficiency Testing” was the topic of the talk of Ena Bernal, Group Manager of the Central Laboratory of the Universal Robina Corporation. The experience of their laboratory in “Laboratory Accreditation” was related by Lily Molina, Laboratory and Quality Manager of the International Rice Research Institute. The good practices in “Environmental Sampling and Sample Handling” were described by Juliana C. Oriña, Laboratory Director, CRL Environmental Corporation. The presentations were well appreciated by the audience in the SRO sessions of the symposium. The sessions were chaired by Dr. Florenda Valera of the University of the Philippines and Dr. Christina Binag of the University of Santo Tomas.
