NIGERIA – The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has conducted a one-day seminar on the “The Determination of the Reliability of Colony Count Method”, to update stakeholders on the current status of the SON Laboratory Services Directorate in Lagos.

The Director General of SON, Mallam Farouk Salim, who was represented by the Director Laboratory Services, Dr Barth Uwgu- Okoko, echoed that the SON laboratories emphasizes the need for testing with the right equipment and well-trained laboratory personnel.

According to him, SON Laboratory services are not only equipped with modern state of the art equipment, but have also undergone accreditation with well trained staff, implying that results generated from the laboratories are acceptable anywhere in the world.

He added that in spite of all these efforts, many stakeholders are not conscious of the present status of SON laboratories, hence a seminar of this nature is necessary not only for knowledge sharing, but also for SON to showcase its abilities.

“Substandard products are like mirages that look real but highly deceptive, leading to wastage of human lives, properties and money and that no nation can make meaningful development where quality is compromised.”

Mallam Farouk Salim, Director General, SON

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The Director General thereby, applauded the participants on achieving the milestone of updating their knowledge, urging them to make the best out of the seminar for the growth of Nigeria in the area of achieving quality assurance through laboratory test methods.

Further, he reaffirmed the significance of microbiological assay in this era of global competitiveness especially in a developing country like Nigeria with the economy shifting to agriculture

“The laboratory testing of our exports at accredited labs such as SON’s will no doubt go a long way in ensuring that products are not rejected in the international market for failing microbiological tests,” he said.

Deputy Director laboratory services, Mr. David Ikhenebome in his presentation on “The Determination of the Reliability of Colony Count Method” noted that this test method is one of the most widely use test method in microbiology.

Compromised standards leads to wastage of resources

According to him, SON as a standard regulatory body in Nigeria stands as the reference point to all manufacturing companies, therefore, it is important to guide and help them determine the validity and reliability of the test when it is conducted within their various laboratories.

“If we must meet the requirement of African Continental free Trade Agreement (AfCTA) we must begin to harmonise our methods, so that the results can be comparable.

“We want results coming from the laboratories of the participants here to achieve a high level of comparativeness and can be used for effective decision making,” Ikhenebone emphasized.

The SON boss Salim reiterated the need to adhere to standards at all times stating that compromised standards leads to wastage of resources.

“Substandard products are like mirages that look real but highly deceptive, leading to wastage of human lives, properties and money and that no nation can make meaningful development where quality is compromised,” he poetically resounded.

In attendance, were representatives of companies and Institutions such as PZ Cussons, Golden Sugar Company, Chikki Foods, Alfa laboratories, Guinnes Nigeria, Koeman integrated Services, Niyya Foods, Batochemical, Dufil, GB Foods, NAFDAC, International Distilleries limited, Qmed diagnostic Limited, Zartech Laboratories, among others.

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