adminFrom Patrick Chitumba in Harare
THE Standards Association of Zimbabwe (SAZ) said on Wednesday that it is expecting to approve more food products for sale on the market this year after recording a 10 percent increase in certifications in 2016.
SAZ acting director general Mr Cyril Siringwani told journalists during a tour that the national standards body had certified 365 products in 2016 up from 331 the previous year.
The tour was part of a week-long financial journalism course jointly organised by the European Journalism Centre and The Source, a local online unit of Reuters.
Certification means the products underwent rigorous procedures to ensure they are safe for consumption, the SAZ boss said.
“We must be conscious about what we buy and what we buy must be good quality because there are safety and health issues pertaining to products,” Mr Siringwani said.
“If you are going to buy something, it is important to check if it is certified because not all products are certified. Where there is a certified product, you are better off buying a certified product.”
He said about 200 companies had their systems approved for meeting internationally recognised standards. SAZ is a non-governmental body, recognized by both Government and the private sector as the national standards body.
Besides meeting international set benchmarks, SAZ also works with 56 representatives from different sectors of the economy to come up with various standards for systems and products that are acceptable to the market.
Mr Siringwani said accreditation of products and systems with the body was voluntary but stressed that Government was in the process of establishing a regulatory body that would make certification of some products mandatory.
He said SAZ, with the assistance of the European Union, last year set up a new laboratory at a cost of more than $3 million which is specifically for testing the chemical content of some products to establish their suitability for human consumption.
@pchitumba1
Online Reporter
Bongani Ndlovu