|
18th
August
2008
Task Force pushes for more laboratory
accreditation
THREE accredited laboratories in the
country have continued to maintain their
accreditation status after the
surveillance assessment conducted by
South Africa National Accreditation
Services (SANAS) in May, 2008. The
National Accreditation Task Force
revealed this during the National Task
Force for Accreditation (NTFA) meeting
held in Mwanza, July 24 – 25, 2008.
 |
|
Some
of the members of the National
Task Force for Accreditation (NTFA)
during their visit at Nyegezi
Fisheries, Mwanza. |
The
three laboratories are from Nyegezi
Fisheries in Mwanza, Food Microbiology
and Metrology Laboratory, both based at
the Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS).
During the 7th meeting of the NTFA, its
Chairperson, who is the Director of
Policy and Planning at the Ministry of
Industry, Trade and Marketing Mr.
Januarius Mrema stressed that
accreditation is a very important tool
for the country to participate
effectively in international trade, and
insisted on the importance for other
laboratories in the country to ensure
that they are accredited.
At the meeting, it was also disclosed
that TBS Chemistry and Condom
laboratories, TIRDO Food Microbiology
laboratory, Government Chemist
Laboratory, and Tanzania Food and Drugs
Authority (TFDA) Food Microbiology and
Drugs laboratories were at different
levels in the accreditation process
whereby some are still preparing their
quality manuals, others are working on
compilation of method validation and
uncertainty of measurements.
However members of the NTFA agreed that
all reviewed documents should be
submitted to SANAS by October this year.
The major setbacks on the development of
laboratories accreditation in the
country include lack of qualified
personnel to service equipment, non
availability of Certified Reference
Materials (CRM) for method validation,
inadequate proficiency testing providers
and lack of viable policy to push the
accreditation process.
Mrema said though there are numerous
laboratories operating in the country,
only three have been accredited, adding
that this calls for more efforts by NTFA
to ensure that all these laboratories
are accredited.
The Task Force draws members from TBS,
the Government Chemist Laboratory Agency
(GCLA), TFDA,Tanzania Pesticides
Research Institute (TPRI), Nyegezi
Fisheries, Nyumbu and Tanzania
Industrial Research and Development
Organization (TIRDO).
[Top
]
[more
news] |
