Tanzania upgrades food product analysis services
Tanzania’s Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment (MITI) has announced the upgrading of the services provided by its Industrial Research and Development Organization (TIRDO), thanks to the support of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).
The TIRDO laboratories have installed state-of-the-art analytical equipment that will allow private sector processors to analyze food products for nutritional and mineral content. Twelve technicians from TIRDO’s chemistry and biology laboratories have received training on how to use the new equipment.
The new Atomic Absorption Spectrometer machine, alongside TIRDO’s other services, now provides modern services to local and international processors, including the ability to accurately measure the content of minerals such as sodium, potassium, aluminium, calcium and magnesium in food samples. This is crucial for developing safe and high-quality processed food products.
The support provided to TIRDO is part of an ongoing partnership between MITI and the United Nations Inter-Agency Cluster for Trade and Productive Capacity which includes the work of UNIDO and other UN entities, such as UNCTAD, ITC and ILO.
The upgrading is part of a UNIDO project, “Market value chains relating to horticultural products for responsible tourism market access”, which is aligned with the horticulture and tourism components of the government’s Trade Sector Development Programme.
Project implementation is being carried out in close coordination with Tanzania’s Enhanced Integrated Framework implementation modality which promotes national ownership of the Aid for Trade approach. All UN agencies involved are part of UN’s Delivering as One programme in Tanzania.
As a further step, a marketing strategy will be developed to suggest ways of promoting TIRDO’s improved analytical services, as well as its consultancy and testing services on a commercial basis, with a particular focus on food-processing industries.
