The Government Analyst – Food and Drug Department (GA-FDD) on September 18, 2020 acquired international accreditation of its Inspectorate Division. This status ofInternational Standard Organization (ISO) 17020 achievement was conferred by the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA).
The Department; after over two (2) years of preparation of our Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for inspection and our Quality Management System, was subjected to an assessment exercise by A2LA during the period August 17-20,2020. During the exercise, inspection procedures and practical inspections were observed by the body after which only four (4) non-conformances (NC’s) were identified at closure.
Those NC’s were quickly rectified by the Department, closed off and returned to the assessor who delivered the welcoming newsthat the International Accreditation Council found no objection to conferring accreditation status to the GA-FDD InspectorateDivision. This information can now be found on the A2LA Website: https://cabportal.touchstone.a2la.org//index.cfm?event=directory.detail&labPID=94B40D51-9B90-4238-AD57-6F03499EE7C4
Our Accreditation Scope includes inspection, sampling and product destruction for food, drugs, cosmetics and medical devices. All certificates and licenses issued by the Department will now be accompanied by the A2LA logo which givesuniversal recognition of the distinctive work of the Department.
The GA-FDD is the only accredited Government Inspection Body in Guyana and also has the distinction of being the only Government entity in the entire Caribbean Region that is fully a Conformity Assessment Body (CAB) with ISO17020 Inspectorate as well as ISO 17025 Laboratory Accreditations. The laboratory accreditation was acquired through Jamaican National Agency for Accreditation (JANAAC).
This milestone is attributed to astute leadership, hard work and dedication of all staff and the unwavering support from the Ministry of Public Health. The Department strives to continually enhance our standards and service to clients and the people of Guyana.
The Department’s immediate plan is to redouble efforts to ensure revision of our archaic legislation, finalizing the project for our new and improved state of the art laboratory and office complex facility, and the complete digitization of the GA-FDD operating systems. These measures are geared towards realizing our strategic goals to offer superior service to clients, trade facilitation and guarantee consumer protection from substandard products.
Clients must take cognizance of the fact that being accredited infers that higher standards will be required of them to comply with our Quality Management System. Substandard food, drugs, cosmetics and medical devices imports will be an occurrence of the past. Document submissions and all requirements must nowbe met and there shall be no compromising of our system which will negatively impact on our status of accreditation.
The Government Analyst – Food and Drug Department invites you to share in this accomplishment and work with us for the benefit and betterment of us all. Strengthening confidence in the ability of our agency to adequately regulate our market is high priority, together with our commitment to supporting the growth and development of the Agro-processing, Pharmaceutical and Cosmetic industries in Guyana with an Accredited Inspectorate Division and an Accredited Laboratory.
Accreditation Certificate awarded to GA-FDD