RIYADH – Since the outbreak of novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the authorities have analyzed over 1400 samples of foods, medicines, medical equipment, devices and sterilizers, to ensure their conformity with the standards and specifications, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) cited the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) as saying Monday. In the breakdown of figures, the SFDA analyzed 205 sanitizer samples, conducted 1,000 tests on food samples, 140 medicine samples, and 137 medical devices, with the objective of ensuring safety of the products and compliance with standards. As part of the precautionary measures the Kingdom has adopted to curb the spread of the COVID-19 virus, SFDA laboratories have recently been working at full capacity throughout the week. The analyses have been quickened to take 45 minutes at the most, including the issuance of results. This is being achieved by taking the help of technical staff and laboratory specialists from all departments to carry out this task. Through its laboratories, the SFDA analyzes the percentage of impurities in the sanitizers and in raw material and whether the product is fit for use in the manufacturing process. It also checks the precision of results through a series of steps and procedures. Then the analysis results are sent to the pertinent administrations and sectors to take appropriate decisions. The product is approved only if the results are in conformity with the specifications and standards. The SFDA continuously issues announcements on the products violating the standards and specifications on its website www.sfda.gov.sa and its platforms on the social media. The SFDA laboratories are operated in an integrated fashion along with the authority's sectors by conducting the necessary analyses and tests on foods, medicines, medical equipment and products, whether manufactured locally or have been imported. This is achieved via five main laboratories, distributed among the Kingdom's regions. The laboratories test and analyze all the samples depending on the specialization of each laboratory. The test and analysis results are compared with the requirements of the standards and specifications to decide if they are in conformity with the standard requirements and conditions. It also provides scientific and technical consultations.
