Guyana tightens food safety with modern laboratory; to be accredited, available to other CARICOM nations

Last Updated on Sunday, 26 January 2025, 16:57 by Writer

Work would begin shortly on accrediting the just-commissioned modern Guyana Food Safety Authority’s (GFSA) laboratory located at La Bonne Intention (LBI), East Coast Demerara, Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha said.

“We’re putting things together to get it into operation. I asked the Head to give me a list of requirements to get into operation and then we’ll take it to get accredited,” he told Demerara Waves Online News. That process could take as much as two years.

He also told Demerara Waves Online News that the GY$520 million lab, which was funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), would be used as a tool to eliminate non-tariff barriers in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) bloc. He added that the facility would be available for member-states “to get their things tested here.”

Adviser at the Ministry of Agriculture, Dr Richard Blair added that the laboratory would ensure that Guyana’s food being produced, consumed and exported “meets the highest safety standards” at a time when Guyana’s agriculture and agro-processing sectors are growing. He said the facility would help the GFSA to enforce the required food standards and so strengthen Guyana’s reputation of food being produced locally. “The facilities, I know, are designed to provide advanced testing capabilities, provide a space for training, support regulatory enforcement and empower the Guyana Food Safety Authority to carry out its mandate more effectively and efficiently,” he said.

Chief Technical Officer of the Ministry of Agriculture, George Jervis said the lab would empower the GFSA to “protect the health and well-being” of consumer, promote and ensure food safety along the food chain and open up market opportunities for producers. “By providing this state of the art analytical structure and service, we will be able to enhance our competitiveness,” he said.

IDB Representative to Guyana, Lorena Solórzano Salazar said international markets and consumers require traceability and quality of what they are eating or drinking. The lab, she noted, could conduct contamination test, authenticity test and nutritional analysis, all of which are in the interest of public health and consumer trust as well as export revenues. “This new facility, equipped with cutting edge technology and trained personnel, will play a crucial role in the future of Guyana’s agriculture sector,” she said.