The importance of utilizing standards to ensure quality products are imported and produced for the local market was recently highlighted at a press conference held by the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS).
Speaking to media representatives, Executive Director of the GNBS Ms. Candelle Walcott Bostwick emphasized the need for persons to be guided by standards. She focused on five new standards developed by the GNBS, namely salted fish, honey, footwear, cellular phones and textile and related products.
The salted fish standard applies to salted fish and dried salted fish, which has been fully saturated with salt or to salted fish, which has been preserved by partial saturation to a salt content not less than 12%, by weight of the salted fish, which may be offered for consumption without further processing. Manufacturers can produce wholesome salted fish for human consumption when the product will not cause food borne infections or intoxication; does not contain residues in excess of established limit; it is free of disease and obvious contamination and has been produced under hygienic controls.
GNBS Press Conference, March, 2017
The honey standard prescribes the requirements for honey produced by the honeybees Apis mellifera and Meliponini sp. It specifies three grades of honey with requirements for production, handling, packaging, labelling, analytic sampling and testing of honey that is intended or offered for sale in the Caribbean Community. This standard takes into account the management of equipment and storage conditions of honey and requirements for hygiene production that assures the production of safe honey for human consumption.
The standard for cellular phone dealers specifies the labelling requirements for cellular phones and stipulates the sale and after sale services of cellphone dealers. More specifically, the standard specifies the requirements for sale of cellular phones, which include the labelling of phones “new”, “used” or “refurbished”; the sale of phones with the appropriate package, accessories and user manual; the sale of phones with written warranty, and the absence of functional defects in refurbished cellphones.
The footwear standard specifies the requirements, labelling, storage and test methods for footwear. It includes what labels of the product shall contain including name and address of the manufacturer or supplier, brand name or registered trade mark, size, country of origin and materials or symbols for which the sole and the upper are made. In addition, the standard states that footwear should be stored in a dry well ventilated store. Outdoor storage exposure to direct sunlight is prohibited and footwear should be stored at least one metre away from any source of heat.
Lastly, the standard for textiles and related products specifies the requirements for the labelling, sampling and test methods of garments, textiles and consumer textile products and thread sole for machine and hand sewing, whether locally made or imported.
The media was also informed of the three draft standards, which are under development and out for public comments and inputs, namely:
These standards are available for comments on the GNBS website: www.gnbsgy.org
Also present at the press conference were the Chairperson of the National Standards Council, Ms. Allison Butters Grant and the Public Relations Officer of the GNBS, Lloyd David.
