ISLAMABAD: Despite having been unaccredited, all 13 laboratories of the Pakistan Standards & Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) continue to certify edible and non-edible items across the country.

According to the Pakistan National Accreditation Council’s website, the PSQCA’s labs — nine in Karachi and four in Lahore — have been unaccredited by the PNAC.

The website has the names of all the PSQCA labs along with the dates when their validity expired.

The functioning licence of seven labs became invalid in October 2021, but neither the PSQCA nor the Ministry of Science and Technology devised any strategy to get accreditation for these labs. As a result, all the labs have now been declared ineligible by the PNAC to perform their functions.

Official hopes six out of 13 labs will soon get accreditation

Talking to Dawn, PSQCA’s acting Director General Ataur Rehman has acknowledged that the accreditation of their labs has been suspended due to non-compliance. He said there were several issues related to the suspension of the accreditation. “It has been decided that four labs in Karachi and two in Lahore will get accreditation soon,” he said, adding these labs have been upgraded to meet the standards of PNAC and applications will soon be filed for getting accreditation for them.

The PSQCA is the main national standards setting agency of the country. Its labs are not only responsible for maintaining standards of industrial products, but also consumer items as well as edible products.

Among other responsibilities the PSQCA has the mandate to enforce and implement the quality and environmental management systems that is ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 14000. It assists local industries in obtaining certifications for these systems.

There are 166 compulsory items that have to meet Pakistan standards, and the certification is given by the PSQCA, to sanitisers, 38 food items, such as cooking oil, ghee, biscuits, beverages.

Published in Dawn, January 24th, 2022