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INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY FOR STANDARDS CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT IN TANZANIA: THE CASE OF ORGANIC SPICES. Paper presented in the final & book launching SAFE project workshop held at Ocean Paradise Resort in Zanzibar from on 01.06.2010 Akyoo, A.M; & Lazaro, E. Introduction.
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INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY FOR STANDARDS CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT IN TANZANIA: THE CASE OF ORGANIC SPICES Paper presented in the final & book launching SAFE project workshop held at Ocean Paradise Resort in Zanzibar from on 01.06.2010 Akyoo, A.M; & Lazaro, E.
Introduction ● National Trade policy (2003) urges the need to align our standards with those of our major importers ● Standards system entails a cycle of three things (Humphrey, 2008) : • (i) Identification of risks, • (ii) Introduction of procedures to address those risks, • (iii) Creation of procedures to verify conformity with the risk control procedures ● C.A. – is any procedure used to determine whether relevant requirements in technical regulations or standards are fulfilled (Stephenson, 1997). Covers: • (i) Own declaration, • (ii) Testing, • (ii) Certification, and • (iii) Registration of prodn system. ● Testing and certification more relevant for Tanzania. Assessed at three levels: • (i) Availability of requisite equipment • (ii) Availability of trained personnel / professionals • (iii) Accreditation of testing / certifying facility / agency ● Reference standards: EU market standards (Importers of TZ spices). Local stds not enforced
The approach ●Literature search to establish • food hazards in spices that are subject to mandatory testing / certification for different markets; and • the dimensions of conformity assessment capacity ●Institutional mapping (2005 and 2007) ●Interviews with key informant at the • Labs: TBS, TFDA, GCLA, TIRDO, NFQCL, TPRI • Certifiers: TANCERT, IMO
Organic certification services in TZ • The sole local agency (TANCERT) not yet accredited (??) • Certifies for national and regional markets • In cooperation agreements with international certifying agencies –CERES (Germany) and BIOINSPEKTA (Netherlands) & IMO (Switzerland) –for inspection services i.e. personnel capacity is available • IMO charges differential charges for their services depending on whether performed by senior or Junior staff
General observations • There are number of multi-functional testing facilities in TZ. No tests for spices due either specialization and/or inefficiency • Lack of a coordinated approach to capacity- diverse ownership for labs, overlapping mandates btn labs. All due to absence of a food safety policy. • An indication of inadequate capacity to operate the equipment. Some critical equipment-not yet working, out of order or not accredited. Generally, personnel availability is not a major constraint BUT specialized training to carry out specific tasks, operations and maintenance of equipment is still needed. Major problem appear to be dispersal of capacity btn laboratories. • For organics, IMO has a de facto monopoly though TANCERT may be an alternative in future. What is the position of TANCERT’s accreditation application with the IOAS??
Conclusion & recommendations • Local conformity assessment capacity • Local capacity for conformity assessment can lead to: • (i) reduction in turn-round time for exporters and the • (ii) A possibility for more detailed informal technical interaction between actors. ► Challenges: • Local institutions should be better coordinated and improve their efficiency • (ii) completing the necessary investments and gaining international accreditation. • Prevailing circumstances are not positive ingredients for investment in domestic conformity assessment, whether it is dedicated to spices or indeed if it is for agro-food exports in general. However, if all potential export industries that require such food safety assessment are factored in, such an endeavour could become feasible and economical. • Incomes in the developing Asian countries are increasing.Watch out!safety-related investments in Tanzania have a long term justification • There is a case for public support for TANCERT’s achievement of international accreditation and also subsequent efforts to secure practical recognition (competitive leverage?).. • Formulation of national food safety policy to define the role of all stakeholders (private and public sectors)