The Guyana Rice Development Board’s (GRDB) Central Laboratory was on Tuesday re-certified under the Laboratory Certification Programme of the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS).
This has paved the way for the institution to operate as a grading laboratory for the testing of rice and paddy that is conforming to the requirements of the Guyana Standard – GYS 170:2009, “General requirements for the operation of a laboratory”.
The certification is for a two-year period. GRDB was first certified in 2011. Over the past several weeks, the Board worked with GNBS to ensure that systems/procedures to maintain the certification as a grading laboratory were met.
GNBS Technical Officer, Keon Rankin, presented GRDB’s Deputy General Manager, Allison Peters, with the certificate.
GRDB through its Quality Control Department is mandated to grade and certify all paddy, rice and its by-products for local consumption and exportation to regional and international markets. Currently, Guyana exports rice and paddy to 37 countries.
The Central Laboratory of GRDB was also recently re-accredited to the ISO: 17025, “General Requirement for the Competence of Testing and Calibration Laboratories” by the Jamaica National Agency for Accreditation on April 24th, 2019. GRDB’s central laboratory was the first testing lab in Guyana to be accredited to the International Standard ISO: 17025.
Peters stated that certification and accreditation of the central laboratory have ensured that staff continuously follow the procedures and systems required to ensure that the quality of rice tested is accurately measured in keeping with the required standards thereby ensuring that high-quality rice products are produced by millers for local and export consumption.
General Manager Nizam Hassan said that the re-certification of the laboratory by both GNBS and JANAC demonstrates the commitment that the Board has placed on ensuring that it executes its responsibilities in keeping with industry best practices and international standards. He further said that Guyana’s customers can be assured that the product being supplied has been tested to meet their required quality specifications as set out in their contracts with millers.
GRDB has grading facilities at its Region’s 2, 3 and 6 Sub-Office, and its Rice Research Station at Burma, Mahaicony.
