ZABS with HAZEL ZULU
THE Zambia Bureau of Standards (ZABS) is the national standards body for Zambia enacted by an Act of Parliament Cap 416 of the Laws of Zambia whose core mandate is to formulate national standards, conduct quality assurance and calibration of measuring instruments (metrology) activities.
One of the functions of the Bureau is to provide facilities for the examination and testing of commodities to which standards apply and the material or substance from which a commodity may be produced, manufactured, processed, treated or finished.
Today I choose to talk about one of the services that ZABS offers, a service that is very critical to the development of our country. A service that helps industry confirm whether or not the products they are putting on the market are safe, reliable and of the right standard. A service that provides a tool for conformity assessments.
ZABS has modern laboratories for testing and analysis of products to national and international standards as well as client specifications. In fact, dear reader, we are happy to say that some of our laboratories have received accreditation from the Southern African Accreditation Service (SADCAS).
Accreditation is the formal recognition that an organisation is competent to perform specific processes, activities or tasks. The recognition is as a result of an independent and impartial evaluation by an authoritative body against nationally and internationally recognised standards.
To maintain this recognition, laboratories are re-evaluated regularly by the accreditation body to ensure their continued compliance with requirements, and to check that their standard of operation is being maintained.
ZABS laboratories, namely the general chemistry laboratory and the condoms laboratories, were accredited for the chemical analysis of elements in portable water as well as feed and moisture volatile matter in animal feed and physical testing of water leakages, pressure, lubricant quality and other parameters in latex condoms.
Some of the products tested include the following:
• Foodstuffs
• Water {for chemical and microbiological tests}
• Meat and milk products
• Beverages {for chemical and microbiological tests}
• Soaps and detergents
• Fertilisers
• Mining and exploration samples for metal content
• Environmental samples e.g. soil, water, {for DDT and other persistent organic pollutants}
• Aldrin, dieldrin, chlordane, and other poisonous substances in drinking water
• Crop samples for pesticide residues
• Paints
• Petroleum products {lubricants, transformer oil, kerosene, diesel, petrol, biodiesel, etc.}
• Condoms and surgical gloves
• Textile and packaging materials
It is for this reason that last week, we made an appeal to manufacturers to utilise ZABS testing laboratory services to confirm that the products that they are putting on the market are safe, reliable and of the right standard. We want to reiterate that message and say that manufacturers should prioritise the health and safety of consumers by ensuring that they adhere to set standards.
We are happy to inform you, dear reader, that between January and March this year, the Bureau analysed and tested a total of 2,016 product samples instead of the targeted 1,827.
This, to us, is a good indication because 62 percent of the samples tested were submitted for testing by private clients. During the period under review, the largest number of samples tested were foodstuffs, petroleum samples, water and fruit-flavoured drinks.
Our call, therefore, is to industry in general, to come forward and ensure that their products are checked for compliance to standards through testing by recognised laboratories such as ours.
The author is head – marketing and public relations.
For more information, contact:
The Director
Zambia Bureau of Standards
Lechwe House, Freedom Way
P O Box 50259, Lusaka
Tel: 260-211-231385