JANAAC Ensures Exports Meet Int’l Standards

The Jamaica National Agency for Accreditation (JANAAC) is playing its part to strengthen Jamaica’s export market by ensuring that the quality of the products that are exported meet international standards.

Since the agency was established in 2007, they have been robustly seeking to get as many certification bodies as possible and other conformity assessment entities accredited to the respective international standards, which include labs, testing labs, medical testing labs, calibration labs and inspection bodies.

This will ensure that the quality of the products that are traded in the market not only meet these standards and the expectations of the buyers but “will also ensure that as exporters and manufacturers in Jamaica we become economically resilient, having those goods and services that are best in class,” said the agency’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Sharonmae Shirley.

In a recent interview with JIS News, Mrs. Shirley noted that this is demonstrated through the conformity assessment activities carried out by JANAAC “that prove to the buyers in our target markets that the goods and services that we’re selling actually meet or exceed their expectations”.

Acknowledging the importance for the accreditation of certification bodies across the region that are able to issue certificates to manufacturers, the CEO is imploring businesses to have their products accredited to the ISO/IEC 17065 standard.

This standard for conformity assessment contains the requirements for the competence, consistent operation and impartiality of product, process and service of certification bodies.

With JANAAC being the only accreditation body in the Caribbean and one of four globally that can accredit certification bodies to the United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) accredited Third Party Certification Programme (TPP), this provides much-needed access for the manufacturing industry to the fast-track procedures that the US FDA allows for those entities that are certified by the certification body.

Mrs. Shirley explained that “once JANAAC accredits a certification body, that certification body will now be able to certify products or processes for animal and human consumption entering the United States, and they have what they describe as a Voluntary Qualified Importer Programme that allows for this expedited entry of food products into the US”.

In addition to being the only accreditation body in the Caribbean, JANAAC has 10 of the 11 scopes possible under the FDA TPP, placing the Agency ahead of the market, in terms of providing the support that is needed by exporters.

This also supports the Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Senator the Hon. Aubyn Hill’s mandate “to make sure that we can provide all that our exporters need in support of their quest to expand exportation in the respective markets”.

To this end, Mrs. Shirley is urging more certification bodies to become accredited to this programme, so that they can support the manufacturers and export industries.

“We have been doing a lot of work in a short period of time, but we are doing this because it’s important to build the infrastructure that is needed to support a culture of quality in Jamaica,” she said.

Source: JIS