Food and Drug laboratories get JANAAC accreditation

Aug 28, 2018 News

GA-FDD Director, Mr. Marlan Cole [second from left] receives the certificate of accreditation from Mr. Donovan Stanberry, Permanent Secretary to MICAF in the presence of JANAAC’s Chairman, Mr. Simon Roberts, and Chief Executive Officer, Mrs. Sharonmae Shirley.

The Government Analyst – Food and Drug Department (GA-FDD) was yesterday presented with the Certification (Award) of Accreditation in conformance with the ISO/IEC 17025:2005 standard from the Jamaica National Agency for Accreditation (JANAAC).

The Certificate (Award) received by the GA-FDD on the occasion of the 23^rdGeneral Assembly of the Inter American Accreditation Cooperation (IAAC) is currently being hosted at the Hilton Rose Hall Resort and Spa in Montego Bay, Jamaica.

Delivering the feature address at the IAAC Assembly’s Inauguration was Hon. Audley Shaw – Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries (MICAF) – Jamaica.

Accredited Laboratories of the GA-FDD include the – Food Chemistry Laboratory; Food Microbiology Laboratory; Excise Laboratory and Water Chemistry Laboratory.

Mr. Marlan Cole – Director of GA-FDD, received the Certificate (Award) from Mr. Donovan Stanberry, Permanent Secretary to MICAF, in the presence of JANAAC’s Chairman, Mr. Simon Roberts and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mrs. Sharonmae Shirley.

Accreditation now makes the Government Analyst – Food and Drug Department Laboratory – the only of its kind public sector entity in the region that is accredited with the authority and scope to attest to results generated from its analysis and tests that is now recognized and accepted anywhere in the world. Guyana’s agro-processing industry will now be further supported to access international markets because of enhanced competence of the GA-FDD with testing and certification.

The Government of Guyana through its Ministry of Public Health, the Guyana National Bureau of Standards [GNBS], the CARICOM Regional Organization for Standards and Quality [CROSQ] via the 10^thEuropean Development Funds [EDF] Fund, Staff and the Quality Assurance Department of GA-FDD, were all thanked by Cole for making the milestone possible.

Cole in receiving the accreditation said, “We have been working towards this milestone since 2015, and it would be remiss of me not to recognize the hard working staff of the GA-FDD, particularly our scientific officers, our QA department, and most importantly the Ministry of Public Health’s key, critical and invaluable support given to the entire process.”

He added too, “We wish to also express sincere thanks and appreciation to the CROSQ for adeptly facilitating funding via the 10th European Development Fund (EDF) to make this possible.” Cole also singled out the GNBS for its unwavering support to the department throughout the years.

As GA-FDD moves forward, Cole said assuredly, “It is our intention to maintain such a prestigious status and guarantee customer satisfaction.”

“We will now transition efficiently to meet the requirements of the ISO/IEC17025:2017 Standard and continue to execute our mandate by protecting consumers from substandard food, drug, cosmetics and medical devices and facilitate both local and international trade.”

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