LAGOS, 21 November 2013 – A laboratory run by Nigeria’s National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has received ISO 17025 accreditation from the prestigious American Association of Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA). The accreditation is the first major outcome in Nigeria resulting from the implementation of the West Africa Quality Programme, run by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and funded by the European Commission.

NAFDAC’s Mycotoxin and Pesticides Residues Lab at Oshodi, Lagos State, will now be able to offer local industries and organizations laboratory services with enhanced proficiency. Local manufacturers, especially in the agro-related sectors, will be able to test and certify that their products can compete with goods in the international market with reference to internationally-accepted standards of quality and can safely be used by both local and foreign consumers for their intended purpose.  

The ISO17025 accreditation not only marks the laboratory’s entry into the league of internationally recognized and respected laboratories, but also boosts the country’s image, as well as the Federal Government’s food and agricultural transformation agenda. 

“All products analyzed for export purpose by the laboratory will now carry a special logo. This means that local manufacturers, especially in the agro-related sectors, can now compete with goods on the international market with reference to internationally-accepted standards of quality,” said Director-General of the NAFDAC, Paul Orhii. 

There are expectations that the number of laboratories accredited against this standard will continue to grow. The Standards Organization of Nigeria is a close runner-up with two of its laboratories for microbiological and chemical testing currently being assessed for accreditation. 

The European Commission has recently provided an additional EUR 12 million in funding for a new National Quality Infrastructure (NQI) project in Nigeria in order to reproduce the successful results of its regional flagship intervention for promoting quality. Officials hope that the action to strengthen quality infrastructure in Nigeria heralds the emergence of a ‘Nigerian Quality’ brand slogan. 

For more information, please contact:   

Bernard Bau
Industrial Development Officer, UNIDO
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