IJCA - Volume 3 - Flipbook - Page 56
54 The International Journal of Conformity Assessment
AOAC Africa is currently supporting laboratories
where funding can be mobilised. Unfortunately, there
is increasingly concerning evidence that resources
remain unavailable or limited.
Summary
and analysts aimed at closing some of the knowledge
and infrastructure gaps in the local and regional
context. These collaborations not only bring marked
improvements in public health and contribute to
reducing the 137,000 annual deaths in Africa from
foodborne illnesses, they also support Africa to fulfill
its agrifood trade potential. The partnership with
ARSO is very exciting, and it represents the practical
steps our community is taking to make Africa’s food
safe and improve laboratory capacities. But as we
keep on moving forward, there is much more to be
done, and we call on governments, the international
community, and other stakeholders to join ARSO and
AOAC Africa to prioritise investment in food safety
and conformity assessment analytical capacity.”
Summing up, Winta Sintayehu said, “We, Africa’s
analytical scientists, conclude that significant work
and resources are needed to fill the very significant
physical and human capacity gaps that have been
identified. We are already engaged in partnerships to
develop analytical methods specific to African raw
materials, which did not previously exist. And we are
concluding further partnerships to build laboratory
and analytical staff capacities across various
countries. These are all a good start, but they’re not
enough. Our community calls for additional support
from intergovernmental organisations, member
state governments, and private sector partners, to
support this essential work, with AOAC Africa as the
professional technical support resource.”
About AOAC International Africa
Section
Nearly half of laboratories testing for aflatoxins
in peanut slurry did not pass.
AOAC INTERNATIONAL Africa Section is a leading
regional professional scientific association, building
confidence in analytical results. It is a not-for-profit
organisation based purely on the active volunteer work
of scientists and like-minded stakeholders, dedicated
to advancing and promoting knowledge and best
practice in analytical science in the region. Currently
there are 300 active members in 46 countries.
The Section aims to achieve its goals through
collaboration, training, and education; analytical
methods development and harmonisation; the
extension of the scope of official methods (to include
indigenous foods where required); and to serve as an
independent, impartial scientific advisory body.
75% of those testing for aflatoxin in maize did
not pass.
About ARSO
The Africa Section has done extensive work
to establish the state of analytical capacity on
the continent and to make practical remedial
recommendations. The most recent iteration of
its Laboratory Performance Benchmarking Survey
(LPBS), in which 38 laboratories from eight countries
participated in a series of six tests to assess
the accuracy and reliability of the participating
laboratories’ results, revealed some concerning
trends:
On average, up to half the testing for vitamins in
fortified maize did not pass.
Evidence of inappropriate result sharing
between laboratories undergoing accreditation.
Some of the main identified root causes for the
results included unsuitable storage, poor physical
infrastructure, and lack of competence among
laboratory analysts (not adequately trained) — all of
which point to a lack of investment and resources.
ARSO was formed in 1977 with the principal
mandate to harmonise African standards, conformity
assessment, and procedures to reduce technical
barriers to trade and, therefore, promote intraAfrican and international trade as well as to enhance
the industrialization of Africa. ARSO is a member
intergovernmental organisation with 43 members in
Africa as of December 2022. As of February 2023,
ARSO has 87 technical committees and has achieved
1,651 harmonised African standards.
