Guyana’s Government Analyst Food and Drugs Department (GAFDD) has now better positioned itself to support the country’s agro-processing sector in its quest to access international markets following its receipt on Monday of a Certificate of Accreditation in conformity with the ISO/IEC 17025:2005 standard from the Jamaica National Agency for Accreditation. (JANAAC).
ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation is the single most important standard for calibration and testing laboratories around the world. ISO 17025 accredited laboratories have demonstrated that they are technically proficient and able to produce precise and accurate test and calibration data. The accreditation of the GAFDD comes at a time when food safety standards in some of the world’s most lucrative markets are rising continually and when the United States’ Food Safety Modernisation Act (FSMA) continues to demand heightened levels of food safety guarantees from countries wishing to access its markets. The conferral of the accreditation also coincides with evidence of marked growth in the country’s agro-processing sector and in the export readiness of its produce.
The presentation of the Award to the GAFDD coincides with the 23rd General Assembly of the Inter American Accreditation Cooperation (IAAC) staged earlier this week at the Hilton Rose Hall Resort and Spa in Montego Bay, Jamaica.
