Monday, 20 April 2009

Plans made to help food standards

The Phnom Penh Post
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/

Written by May Kunmakara
Monday, 20 April 2009

Govt holds talks with Chinese on new facility

THE government has appealed to China to provide funds and advisers to build a new food inspection laboratory to improve quality standards for export goods, it said.

Meng Saktheara, director general of the Industry Department at the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy (MIME) told the Post that the proposal was made by the minister, Suy Sem, when he met with Chinese delegates last week.

"Now, most of our local business operators produce goods without any quality checks, so if we build a new laboratory we can improve the quality of our local goods for export," he said.

The ministry's existing laboratory is ill-equipped to serve the needs of the Cambodian market, said Meng Saktheara.

He said that the new laboratory would help the government to maximise the impact of relevant legislation.

"When we have better equipment, the ministry will be able to enforce existing quality control laws," he said.

"This does not mean we will force them to check their products; we only want to make it easier for them to get recognised internationally for export," he added.

Chhorn Ravuth, manager of a local palm-wine producer, said he supported the ministry's directive to improve the quality of Cambodian products.

"If the ministry can do this, it will help make users trust our products more and to increase exports," he said.

No comments: