Govt analyst lab gets ISO accreditation

Zim Now Writer

The government analyst laboratory for testing food poisoning and conducting post-mortems for suspicious deaths has been fully certified.

The ISO accreditation which comes after a successful assessment of the laboratory by the Southern African Development Community Accreditation Service is an endorsement of the work being done at the laboratory.

In a speech read on his behalf by the Chief Director of Human Resources in the Ministry of Health and Child Care, Dr Simon Nyadundu, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Air Commodore Dr Jasper Chimedza said the achievement reinforces the ministry’s focus on maintaining high quality that meets global standards.

“The achievement of ISO accreditation by the Government Analyst Lab is a testament to its commitment to quality management systems in compliance with NDS1 as we move towards an upper middle-income society by 2030. With this achievement, government analysts' customers can rest assured that they are receiving services of the highest quality and that the laboratory is dedicated to continuously improving its processes to meet the client's evolving needs,” he said.

Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations representative, Louis Muhigirwa commended Zimbabwe for the achievement, adding that ISO accreditation is the way to go in ensuring a healthy nation.

“Ladies and gentlemen, ISO accreditation is the modern way of systems management and it will assist the Government Analyst Laboratory to improve its ability to consistently produce valid results which are internationally recognised. Hence, opening up opportunities for food business operators to reach out export or international markets,” he said.

The laboratory director, Livingston Musiyambiri said the development is a milestone achievement.

“We are on cloud nine. It has been a long journey, we have wanted this well before 2019. We had falsely started because we did not get dedicated funding, but once we got this partnership with the government also coming in having realised the need for us to be accredited and everything fell into place. We had a committed workforce and now we are here. Whatever we produce is now internationally recognised,” he said.

Early this year the government furnished the laboratory with the latest testing equipment which has resulted in a quick turnover of results.