INAUGURAL AND REVIEW MEETING OF THE SECTORIAL COMMITTEE FOR LOCAL TEAS.

The Certification Division of The Gambia Standards Bureau today concluded a two-day inaugural and review meeting of the Sectorial Committee for local teas-JAMBAKATANG, KINKILIBA, MBORR-MBORR and WONJO at Metzy Residence Hotel.

The objective of this meeting is to develop national framework that will enhance the quality and market acceptance of these products not only in The Gambia but internationally as well.

In his welcoming remarks on behalf of the Director General of The Gambia Standards Bureau, Mr. Amadou G. Jallow a Senior Standard Officer expressed his delight with the turnout and thanked participants for honouring the invitation to be part of this meaningful engagement sessions. He however encouraged them to make the sessions very interactive by asking questions, seeking clarifications or making contributions to enrich the document.

Therese Munchy Gomez, a Certification Officer at The Gambia Standards Bureau delivered a presentation on Conformity Assessment and later guided participants in the review process of the draft Specific Certification Rules for JAMBAKATANG, KINKILIBA, MBORR-MBORR and WONJO. She was ably assisted by Khadijatou Trawally a Quality Manager at The Gambia Standards Bureau. This was preceded by the selection of Chairperson and Vice Chairperson for the committee. Professor A Chris Etonihu a private expert was selected as the Chairperson of the committee and will be ably assisted by Mr. Abdoulatiff Daffeh from Food Safety and Quality Authority as the vice-chairperson.

In order to do justice to the document, participants were nominated from key institutions such as FSQA, NARI, UTG, NaNA, Plant Protection Services, Ya Xare, Consumer Protection Consortium, Jelmah Herbella, Private Experts etc. The committee during the review and discussion stage thoroughly reviewed the documents and effected meaningful changes before pre-validating the draft rules.