I Believe Global ( IBG ), in collaboration with Ghana Standard Authority ( GSA ), held a webinar on the 2nd of August 2022. Themed, Advancing Sustainable Consumption in households, the role of stakeholders in ensuring public consumption safety.
It is an initiative aimed to highlight the role of the Ghana Standard Authority in advancing sustainable production practices on the market chain and consumer management practices.
The presentation was done by Mr. Charles Kuranchie, the acting chief scientific officer and head of product certification at the Ghana Standard Authority.
In his outline, he began with
- Intro – A world without Standards
- Standard and Standardization
- Relevance of Conformity Assessment and Metrology
- How GSA functions
- Sustainable consumption roles of GSA.
Mr. Kuranchie began with a quantitative analysis on consumer purchase of products and having value on them. That is, ensuring products are fit for use, including health and safety, and environmental protection.
Ensuring the standardization of products, where there is a conformity Assessment test, standards are built on consensus. The Ghana Standard Authority are the custodians of Standard and are mandated by law to develop and promote standards, severally for different products.
He furthered on that, GSA can regulate standards on its own for a company, or products. They can also generate standards based on a request from the Food and Drug Authority (FDA), or The Petroleum Industry, which mostly generate on a consensus, done by a section of Academia, stakeholders, and the Ghana Standard Authority (GSA ), to develop a standard. It can also contain codes and guidelines. Some companies that adhere to such, are the Sachet and Bottled water companies. All of them are to conform to these codes, basically the dos and don’ts of their companies.
Mr. Kuranchie mentioned also, that the Codes of hygienic practices, and codes of safety, that is buying products that will not be injurious to you, are all forms of codes used by the GSA.
He went on to say, standards also ensure technological compatibility, using the phone analogy, for instance, standards ensure compliance, that is safety of products.
He defined Standardization as publicity and insurance.
Conformity Assessment is to check per the requirements, in addition to testing, there’s certification, that is written attestation ( license ).
The facility of production of a company is inspected and certified to produce necessary quality assurance.
On the issue of some scrupulous individuals who smuggle their way through the markets without passing the necessary checks, he assured, that such culprits are mostly apprehended and brought to book.
Metrology is a science of measurement, ensuring equipments are able to produce measurement readings. He spoke about the calibration of equipments for companies, and he emphasized that the GSA has a unit responsible for calibration in all sectors in the country on equipments. Ensuring every equipment is well calibrated by the GSA. To know an equipment is calibrated, there is a green sticker with an identification of the Ghana Standard Authority symbol to make identification easy on equipments that are calibrated.
Briefing the participants, Mr. Kuranchie, mentioned the functions of the GSA, is mainly to standardization of products, before making its ways for public consumption.
On the issue of sustainable consumption. He stated emphatically the role of the GSA is basically the Certification of products, if it has to do with food, then FDA. FDA ensures its certification and the GSA works with regulators and standards.
GSA has as department, giving tailor-made programmes, to promote quality assurance testing and Metrology in relation to sustainable consumption.
He ended his presentation, followed by some intriguing questions from the participants.