The National Institute for Standards and Quality (INNOQ) does not have accreditation facilities to issue farmers and food processors wishing to export their products and does not expect to do so in the coming years.
Alfredo Sitoe, the Director General of the National Institute of Standards and Quality said the Institute needs to be equipped to certify ISO 17025 and is not yet, a crippling development for farmers keen to export. The tragedy is that this certification service cannot be achieved in Mozambique.
“The INNOQ currently certified by ISO 9001 and is internationally recognized, but what is at issue here is the product certification.”
The head of INNOQ explained that to make a product (food) one must have testing laboratory also accredited to ISO 17025, here in the country there are several laboratories but none is accredited.
Sitoe also cited that there is no laboratory to do pesticide testing. He highlighted that the food producers who can overcome the chronic problems of production among the various challenges have to also overcome putting the products on the market, particularly international one, due to food certification barrier.
Asked by @Verdade on the costs and time required to install a accredited laboratory, Sitoe clarified that: “We must first think of building, purchase equipment, it is not an easy thing.”
