NIGERIA – The Standard Organisation of Nigeria, SON, has called on investors in the private sector of the economy to build laboratories for products testing.
The Director General of the agency, Dr. Joseph Odumodu, who made the call in Lagos at a public event recently, said this has become necessary to bridge the gap for more accredited laboratories in the country.
‘It is not only SON that ought to accredit; you (private sector) can set up your own laboratories, get it accredited by international body and do what SON also does.
‘By so doing, you are opening up the market; after all, how many labs do SON has across the country? We have our limitations and we want you to be part of this process,” he said.
According to him, in order to pave the way for Made-in- Nigeria products meet acceptable international standards, two of its laboratories had been certified by the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation.
“The laboratories are accredited in accordance with the recognized international Standard ISO/IEC 17025:2005 general requirement for competence of testing and calibration Some of the products which will now undergo local testing in the laboratories before export include maize, beans, soya beans, rice, cassava, yam. The certification also accommodates fresh fish, frozen fish and can foods,” he stated.
On the significance of the certification, he said, “We are all making history here. It’s the first time two of our laboratory will be accredited in Nigeria simultaneously.
“With the certification, any product that is certified in the two laboratories would be acceptable and will not be subjected to any further testing anywhere across the world.”
January 13, 2014; http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/01/son-liberalizes-laboratories-for-products-testing/#sthash.2mGCUZNl.dpuf
