SBS achieves SADCAS accreditation for fish products |27 March 2018

The Food Chemistry Laboratory of the Seychelles Bureau of Standards (SBS) has achieved SADCAS accreditation for testing of “histamine” in fish products.

SADCAS (SADC Accreditation Services) is a regional accreditation service provider in the SADC region.

SBS chief executive Andy Ally has said that with this accreditation, SBS as the national standards body for the Seychelles and official testing laboratories for the export of fish and fishery products has achieved another milestone in its existence.

Two SADCAS assessors who are currently in the country on a surveillance visit, presented the new “Certificate of Accreditation and Scheduled of Accreditation” whereby histamine is included as another parameter of which SBS is accredited for.

Mr Ally said that such achievement is of importance for the country especially to the fishery industries and the Competent Authority (CA) as well as Government in its endeavour to promote the development of the Blue Economy and the development of new value added fish and fishery products with the potential for export from Seychelles.

“All the accreditation achieved so far by SBS is assisting the country to continue in sustaining its export of fish and fishery products to the EU and the rest of the world and also act as an additional testing services which is being offered to the fish export establishments who do not have such facilities to undertake routine testing of histamine as part of their internal quality control,” he added.

Laboratories at the SBS are designated by the CA (Fish Inspection and Quality Control Unit) as the laboratories to test fish and fishery products for export especially to European Union. One of the requirements of the EU Directive is that the fish products are tested in an accredited laboratory.

Accreditation is the process of providing recognition to an organisation for its competence in performing specific tasks. Accreditation  also involves the assessment of technical competence of organisations in providing conformity assessment service such as testing and is now increasingly accepted worldwide as the most transparent and non-discriminatory mechanism to assure competency.

The Environment Laboratory at the SBS is the first testing laboratory in the country which obtained accreditation from SADCAS in 2011 for testing of seven parameters in potable water namely: Chloride, Fluoride, Sulphate, Nitrate, Nitrite, PH and Conductivity. Such test is done in potable water for the CA and the fish establishments.

It is a requirement to ensure that the water and ice used for processing of fish are of good quality as part of food safety. Later in 2016, this same laboratory achieved accreditation for testing of heavy metal (Mercury, Lead and Cadmium) in fish and fishery products.

In November 2017, SBS achieved another milestone whereby the Food Chemistry Laboratory of the bureau received an Accreditation Notification that it has attained accreditation for testing of histamine in fish which are exported.

There is no other laboratory in Seychelles which are accredited for all such tests.

Once accredited, SADCAS Assessors undertake yearly surveillance assessment to evaluate whether the bureau is effectively implementing and maintaining the requirements of International Standard ISO/IEC 17025- Requirements for Testing and Calibration Laboratories and the accreditation status for these tests.

Achieving accreditation for the above mentioned tests carried out for fish and fish products and for water, means that Seychelles is meeting the requirement of the EU regulations whereby they stipulate that such tests be carried out in accredited laboratories in order to ensure reliable results related to food safety.

Being able to perform these accredited tests in the Seychelles will also facilitate the work of the Fish Inspection & Quality Control Unit, which is the CA responsible for sanitary control and certification of fish & fishery products for export from the Seychelles as well as the fish export establishments in the Seychelles as and when they need to make use of such services as part of their in-house quality control checks instead of having to send their samples overseas to be tested by other accredited laboratories which is at time costly to undertake.

Based on the recommendation of the Assessors and the Approvals Committee’s decision, the Accreditation Body has granted accreditation for heavy metal test in fish. Accreditation Notification was received on September 21, 2016.

The Environment Laboratory is the first and only laboratory in Seychelles accredited for heavy metal testing in fish. It is testing mercury in fish since 1996 and heavy metals in fish since early 2000 for the CA and the fish establishments except when the service was discontinued when the Atomic Absorption Spectrometer (AAS) breakdown (2010 to 2013) and could not be repaired as it became an obsolete model and then EU assisted to purchase a new AAS in 2013 which was operational from year 2014. 

Histamine is a test carried out to check the spoilage in fish. Fish can build up high levels of Histamine if not stored at appropriate temperature and causes allergy when eaten. The Food Chemistry Laboratory at the SBS has the modern and reliable technology to test histamine using HPLC (High Performance Liquid Chromatography).

It is a requirement of the EU Directive that the fish exported to EU are tested in an accredited laboratory using HPLC method. Laboratory applied for accreditation for histamine in December 2015 and did not manage to achieve accreditation in the first assessment by Accreditation Body in June 2016. Actions were taken to fill the gaps identified during assessment and reapplied for accreditation towards end of 2016. The second assessment was carried out in 2017 and laboratory received the Accreditation Notification on November 8, 2017.

It is a requirement to achieve accreditation that the analyst is competent in carrying out the test and is assessed and recommended by Technical Assessors and appointed as Technical Signatory by the Accreditation Body.

In order to prove the competency, the analyst should participate in Proficiency Testing and obtain satisfactory result for the tests, should test Certified Reference Materials/ Reference Standards and obtain satisfactory results, the Technical Assessor should be satisfied with the performance of the test witnessed, should be able to do the test independently, should maintain the records required, should be well versed with the procedures and test methods and should know the duties and responsibilities of the Technical Signatory as required by the Accreditation Body.

Three staff in the Environment laboratory and now three other staff in Food Chemistry Laboratory are qualified and appointed as Technical Signatory by the Accreditation Body which is an achievement for SBS.

Another staff from the Environmental Laboratory was assessed yesterday by the assessor to become a technical signatory.

“It is a milestone in the Blue Economy development and is a great achievement for the country that the laboratory is accredited for some important tests for fish and fish products and water,” says CEO Ally.

“This enables us to meet certain EU requirements for export of fish. It is a recognition that the laboratory is capable of providing accurate result which is accepted all over the world. SBS is working towards extending scope of accreditation by accrediting more tests which helps different sectors of the economy,” he added.