The University of Otago's Department of Anatomy has received a warning from the Ministry for Primary Industries after breaches of procedure involving people failing to wear lab jackets or keep track of paperwork.
A six-monthly audit by MPI of a selection of the university's containment laboratories was held earlier this month, and the department was found to have breached procedures for the third time in 18 months.
An MPI spokesman said MPI had received a critical non-compliance notice, and was working with the department to ensure its facility meets the required containment standard.
"We will take further action if we believe the facility poses an imminent biosecurity threat.''
MPI would not be fining the university at this stage, but an infringement notice with an instant fine attached was a possibility if the issue was not resolved.
Head of department Professor Lisa Matisoo-Smith said the breaches were people not wearing lab coats - and some ``missing (but quickly located) paperwork''.
"The main problem was that it was the third consecutive non-compliance issue we have had in the last two years,'' she said.
The previous two non-compliance issues were one minor breach, involving non-compliant lab furniture and general untidiness and concerns about a ventilation system, and a major one involving out-of-date bleach bottles, waste disposal systems, water damage to a laboratory and an open window.
"While we acknowledge there have been compliance issues, these did not result in any containment issues or threaten the safety of people or the environment,'' Prof Matisoo-Smith said.
"We are taking this very seriously.
"We are already undertaking a full review of our space, our processes for tracking biologicals, and, perhaps most importantly, our staff and student training.''
Prof Matisoo-Smith said much of the research the university undertook dealt with new organisms, including modified organisms, and other biological material derived from plants and animals.
The university is one of 430 operators audited by MPI. The spokesman said a selection of the university's approved containment laboratories were audited.