The rules for food companies and producers, on the management of food allergens, were approved. These rules can be adopted by the legislation of each country and thus harmonize the requirements of trading partners.
The standards, which will apply to cereals containing gluten, crustaceans and their products, eggs and egg products, fish and fishery products, peanuts, soybeans and their products, milk and milk products, and nuts and their derivatives, were approved by the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC43), the body responsible for all actions related to the implementation of the Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme and which focus on protecting the health of consumers and ensuring fair practices in their marketing, reported the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce (MEIC).
With the new laboratory for the analysis of toxic residues of bovine, porcine and poultry meat, which will begin to operate as of March 2021, Panama will be able to begin exporting to the US market.
Due to the fact that the country so far lacks a laboratory to certify the quality of the meat, Panama cannot export to the United States, however, authorities announced that next year the situation will change.
From March 2 to 16, local authorities will submit for public consultation the Draft Technical Standard, Characteristics and Technical Requirements of the Premix for the Fortification of Piled Rice.
The project on "Premix for the Fortification of Piled Rice" is the result of one of the two regulatory documents of the General Directorate of Standards and Industrial Technology (DGNTI), reported the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MICI).
Exporters are preparing for the new regulation that will be implemented from 2020 in the U.S. market, among which is the application of a new table of nutritional data in packaged products.
Representatives of the Guatemalan Association of Exporters (Agexport) reported that both U.S. and foreign companies exporting to the U.S., must comply with new food labeling standards.
Arguing that there is no proper verification of cleaning products in the country, the consumer union examines the chemical composition and labelling of packaging.
The verification performed by the Consumers Association of Costa Rica, consists of reviewing the chemical composition of 200 samples of products such as disinfectants and soap for washing dishes, which were sent to different microbiology and chemical laboratories.
Costa Rican authorities signed an agreement for the promotion and consolidation of the country as a wellness tourist destination.
In addition to the cooperation agreement signed between the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT) and the Costa Rica Wellness Association, on May 16 the institution awarded a contract to the Costa Rican Technical Standards Institute (INTECO) to develop a national standard that establishes the service requirements that Wellness Spas must meet in order to be accredited.
In the Dominican Republic, approval has been given to a code of hygiene practices for milk powder and dairy products, which will regulate aspects such as handling and packaging practices, among other things.
From a statement issued by the Dominican Institute for Quality:
The Dominican Institute for Quality, INDOCAL, informs the approval of a code of hygiene practices for milk powder and dairy products, which aims to establish the application of general hygiene practices in handling, packaging, storage, transport, distribution and marketing, to ensure safe and healthy products. The quality body detailed the standards approved by the Expert Technical Commission of the Dominican Council for Quality (CODOCA) in its most recent meeting, these quality standards seek to meet the government's priority to ensure products that are safe for citizens and the development of exports.
From May 22 to 27 Panama will be hosting the ISOTC228 Committee meeting on Tourism and Related Services, which oversees the quality of tourism internationally.
From a statement issued by the Tourism Authority of Panama:
From May 22 to 27 Panama will be hosting the twelfth plenary meeting of the ISOTC228 Committee on Tourism and Related Services, an organization that aims to ensure the quality of tourism internationally.
On May 12 and 13 a conference on quality management will be held in San Jose which will focus on the sectors of health and safety.
From a statement issued by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry:
San Jose April 28, 2016. The Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce (MEIC), as rector of the National Council for Quality and technical bodies made up of: the National Agency for Standardization (INTECO), the Technical Regulation Body (ORT), the Costa Rican Metrology Laboratory (LACOMET) and the Costa Rican Accreditation Entity (ECA), is promoting the First International Conference on Quality, on May 12 and 13 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel Corobici.
On August 24th and 25th companies and public institutions will meet to discuss issues such as standards and quality management, as well as taking part in a business roundtables for the industrial sector.
From a statement issued by Agexport:
Guatemala April 20, 2016. -AGEXPORT-, Ministry of Economy, The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, The Ministry of Finance, and Universidad del Valle, are some of the 18 public, private and academic institutions of the Organizing Committee of the XI Congress on Quality, which seeks to strengthen the culture of quality in Guatemala on issues of quality management, enabling agency and multi-sectoral work to productively contribute to growth and development.
The new standard establishes quality requirements for six different types of hydraulic cement and recommends that the maximum use by date of the product be set by the manufacturer.
From a statement issued by INTECO:
November 2015. In order to establish the parameters and specifications to be complied with by different types of cement products used in the country, the Institute of Technical Standards of Costa Rica (INTECO) approved the norm INTE 11/15/06: 2015 "Hydraulic Cement - Requirements and Specifications ", which aims to guarantee the quality of this product and also serves as a reference for the technical regulations for the marketing of cement in the country.
Government authorities and producers are considering to establish a laboratory in the Panamanian province of Chiriqui to analyze the quality of milk produced in the area.
The proposal is being developed jointly by the Cooperative of Milk Producers of Chiriqui and agriculture authorities. The goal of milk producers is acquire the technology needed to analyze and improve production processes necessary to raise the final quality of the product.
As part of a strategy to position internationally cocoa produced in Guatemala the regional union of producers are working on a seal of origin and traceability.
The initiative by the Mesoamerican Organization of Cocoa and Fine Chocolate (Amacacao) is to create a mechanism to certify the origin, quality and traceability of the final product, in order to increase international positioning and increase exports.
Nicaraguan exporters must work more on packaging and labeling, product differentiation and quality policies.
From a statement from the Association of Goods and Exporters of Nicaragua (APEN):
There are at least "nineteen critical factors" that are hindering the internationalization of Nicaraguan firms, preventing them from being able to sell their products abroad.
The high demands for quality standards, traceability and safety constitute a barrier to making the most out of the Agreement.
In the view of representatives from the Nicaraguan export sector, it has not been possible to make the most out of the association agreement with the European Union in its first two years, due to, among other things, unfavorable international prices, as has been the case of products such as sugar, coffee , cocoa, oil and alcohol.
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