Government intensifies push for accreditation, certification of export companies

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce (MIIC), Reginald Budhan, says the ministry has intensified its programme to get laboratories accredited and business stakeholders certified with the International Standards Organization (ISO).

This is to ensure that products being exported meet the stipulated standards of the countries for which they are intended, Budhan said last Thursday at the stakeholders' breakfast marking World Accreditation Day, hosted by the Jamaica National Agency for Accreditation (JANAAC) in Kingston.

ISO certification

The move is expected to complement initiatives the Government has already undertaken, including establishing an independent national accreditation body to meet the requirements of other countries, and a national certification body to certify companies in key ISO standards.

Jamaica is getting more serious about accreditation because its markets are making more aggressive moves at policing the quality of imports.

Its main market, the United States, for example, has two bits of legislation - the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (2008), to regulate all consumer products entering that country; and the Food Safety Modernization Act, passed in January 2011, which aims to strengthen its food-safety system, with emphasis on preventing food-borne illnesses - both of which stipulate that products being imported be tested by an accredited laboratory before entering that market.

"The enactment of this law and its attendant regulations will have significant implications for Jamaican companies exporting food into the US market," said Budhan, referring to the FSMA.

"This law will put greater responsibility on food production and processing companies. Importers of food in the USA will now be required to import foods only from companies that have prescribed risk prevention measures in place."

critical infrastructure

He said that the Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act also requires that the accreditation body be a signatory to the International Accreditation Cooperation Mutual Recognition Arrangement.

JANAAC and the Certification Body of Jamaica are critical institutional infrastructure, which the Government has put in place to support the National Export Strategy, he said, as he urged companies to "try and catch up" with the state's efforts.

"The ministry does not want to have to react to problems being experienced by companies when they cannot get their products into foreign markets because of non-conformity," Budhan said.

Jamaica exported goods and services totalling just over US$1.3 billion in 2010.

"We must work towards the position where all goods, once tested in Jamaica, are accepted globally without the need for further testing. This is one vital step in clearing potential technical barriers to trade that regulations could pose. Failing this, Jamaica's trading partners could have the basis to refuse our country's exports," the industry ministry official said.

- JIS