Hilina Enriched Foods Processing Center PLC,producer of the therapeutic food product, Plumpy'nut announced, the company has been accredited by the South African National Accreditation System (SANAS) for its new laboratory it is building.

Construction of the laboratory was launched in January 2007, at a cost of 80 million birr is now nearing completion. The company aimed to establishing a commercially accredited modern food testing laboratory in Ethiopia.

“The laboratory will be capable of undertaking a wide variety of micro-biological, chemical and physical tests on food products,” said Belete Beyene, general manager of the company, at the ceremony held at the company’s headquarters on March 05, 2013.

Hilina Enriched Foods has already constructed a laboratory at its plant in Legetafo, Addis Ababa, the completion of the new laboratory will enhance its capacity, according to Belete.

South African National Accreditation System has been recognized by the South African government,as the national accreditation body for laboratories. Hilina Enriched Foods Processing Center was awarded the ISO/IEC 2005, for the general requirements to carry out tests, including sampling.

The new laboratory is scheduled to start operation in May 2013. When the laboratory begin operation at full capacity, it will have the capacity to test 100 food products a week. The laboratory will charge 30 dollars, significantly lower price compared to the USD 300 charged by foreign companies oversees, Belete told Fortune.

“The Agency for International Business & Cooperation (EVD), which is part of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs, has been providing assistance since the inception of the idea,” said Belete. EVD has extended close to one million dollars in grants, in three installments, since 2007 for the company. An additional 1.5 million dollars are expected to expand the company’s capacity further, according to Belete.

Hilina Enriched Foods Processing Center PLC is established in 2003 by six shareholders, with 1.6 million Br capital, the company was one of the organizations selected by the World Food Programme (WFP) and UNICEF to supply therapeutic food products. Currently, the company has a capacity to produce up to 5,000tn of food products annually.

Source: Fortune