Establishing Improved Diagnostic Services to Support the Export of Value-Added Products
Vanuatu has been identified as having a range of value-added food industries and a range of products have been identified as of prime interest including kava, vanilla, spices, copra and copra meal, cocoa and meat. A range of diagnostic services (skills, equipment and procedures) are required to ensure such products meet quality and/or safety standards (e.g. water quality testing) and to show compliance of the product itself with the standards.
The islands of Efate (Port Vila) and Santo (Luganville) both support a range of the industries of prime interest, and have various diagnostic service providers offering varying degrees of capability. AsureQuality have been appointed by PHAMA to undertake a scoping study to report on the current status of the testing facilities available and to provide recommendations concerning the establishment of diagnostic services for testing in the food and related industries in Vanuatu.
Key words: kava, vanilla, spices, copra and copra meal, cocoa and meat, food safety standards, diagnostic services, laboratory
