Mohammed Saif Al Kuwari, Director-General of the Department of Standardisation and Laboratory Affairs at the Ministry of Environment, told the Qatar News Agency that the lab was now being equipped with high-quality apparatus to detect harmful chemicals used in the manufacture of toys, such as lead, cadmium and mercury, among others.
The new facility will help ensure that all toys imported into Qatar confirm to Qatari specifications and meet local safety requirements.
The construction of the laboratory, which has taken one full year, is now in the final stages, said Al Kuwari.
“The Qatari market is free from contaminated toys. About 50 percent of all the low-quality toys that do not meet the GCC standards and specifications have already been pulled out of the market,” Al Kuwari told the media on the sidelines of a symposium on Legislative System to Control the Products in the Gulf Common Market, at the Ritz-Carlton hotel yesterday.
The event, held under the auspices of the Ministry of Environment, was part of an awareness campaign launched by the GCC Standardisation Organisation (GCCSO).
Al Kuwari and GCCSO’s Secretary General, Anwar Al Abdullah, addressed the symposium, which was attended by representatives from the Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry (QCCI).
The officials disclosed that several accredited quality control laboratories will soon be set up in the GCC countries under the supervision of the GCCSO. In the absence of such facilities, the Gulf countries have been forced to rely on laboratories that are not officially accredited by the member countries.
Participants in the meeting also urged investors to come forward to set up more state-of-the-art quality control laboratories in the private sector with support from GCCSO. They discussed legislative systems, their objectives, contents and expected outcomes and other matters relating to technical regulations and standards in the Gulf market.
The participants were briefed about the quality guides and standards aimed at protecting the health and safety of people in the GCC region from counterfeit and dangerous goods that breach GCC specifications.
The meeting also emphasised the importance of facilitating and promoting intra-regional trade between the GCC countries to serve the goals of the Gulf Common Market.