The Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU with Nestle Ghana Limited to improve standards of food products.
The agreement will among others see the two institutions share knowledge, personnel and skills on new methods of production which are expected to be of the quality expected by the Ghana Standards Authority.
The CEO of the GSA, Professor Alex Dodoo commenting on the partnership told Citi Business News the move should also help protect consumers.
“Industries are always developing new methods for analysis especially. So we need to ensure that we are on top of the new standards and the new analytical methods. They are going to build capacity in that and share information; where appropriate, confidentially. So the end result is that consumers will be much safer than they are even now even though we believe that as far as the food which are registered in Ghana are, they are safe.”
Under the terms of the MoU, the GSA will collaborate with Nestlé in standardization and alignment of applicable test methods; carrying out inter-laboratory comparisons in agreed scopes; and conduct ISO/IEC 17025, safety and compliance internal audits per agreed schedule between the two parties.
In addition, there will be knowledge exchange on Laboratory Information Management Systems, the use of GSA laboratories for conformance to standards and compliance to set constituent limits per Ghana standards.
On its part, Nestlé will offer GSA the opportunity to tour Nestlé laboratories, share relevant information through capacity building programmes to assist the GSA and carry out inter-laboratory comparisons in agreed scopes using ISO accredited standards to improve standards in Ghana
According to Philomena Tan, Managing Director of Nestlé Ghana, this partnership with the GSA will mutually benefit both organisations by harnessing expertise to build individual capabilities to deliver safer and healthier foods to Ghanaians.
She added that, “the quality and safety of our food and beverages are non-negotiable priorities for Nestlé. This partnership is a concrete articulation of Nestlé’s commitment to Creating Shared Value for the society and our company and will further enable us to fulfil our purpose of Enhancing quality of life and contributing to a healthier future” in Ghana.
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By: Pius Amihere Eduku/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana