JANAAC Working with Labs to Attain Export Standard

The Jamaica National Agency for Accreditation (JANAAC) is working assiduously to implement a strategy to ensure that a number of Jamaican laboratories are accredited according to the standard required by food exporters to the United States by 2013.

"This requires the utmost urgency as currently, there is no accredited food testing laboratory in Jamaica," said State Ministerin the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Hon. Sharon Ffolkes-Abrahams.

She was making her contribution to the 2012/13 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives, on July 18, under the theme: 'On a Mission to Achieve Economic Empowerment in this Year of Jubilee'. 

Mrs. Ffolkes-Abrahamssaid that to this end, the JANAAC has: identified the scope of tests that need to be done on food products for export to the US; identified laboratories currently involved in testing food for exporters; conducted a readiness for accreditation survey on these laboratories, and introduced a cost sharing mechanism in which JANAAC will bear about 50 per cent of the cost of accreditation.

To date, five food testing laboratories have applied for accreditation and are going through the process, which takes between seven to 24 months, depending on the readiness of the laboratory, the State Minister said.

She also informed that the JANAAC has been working with the CARICOM Regional Organisation for Standard and Quality (CROSQ) and the Trinidad and Tobago Laboratory Accreditation Service (TTLABS), to develop the Caribbean Co-operation in Accreditation (CCA).

This entity, which is a regional accreditation mechanism for facilitating trade in the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), was approved by the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) at its 13th Meeting in June 2010, the State Minister noted.

She pointed out that the formation of the CCA is expected to help minimise Technical Barriers to Trade (TBTs) between the different islands in the CSME and in facilitating cost effective accreditation solutions for the region.

In the meantime, the State Minister also informed that the fines for food safety breaches have increased due to repeated violations and contraventions of the regulations governing processed foods.

Under the Standards Act, fines have been increased from $500,000 to a maximum of $3 million, and/or imprisonment for a term of 12 months. Additionally, under the Processed Foods Act, fines have increased from $200,000 to $3 million, and/or imprisonment for a term of 12 months.

"We anticipate that these amendments will act as a more effective deterrent to food safety violations," she said.