3.75.  The Gambia has reformed its food safety regime. A new Food Safety and Quality Act, 2011 was enacted, followed by the establishment of the Food Safety and Quality Authority with unified responsibilities to ensure the safety of food and feed. The animal health and plant protection regimes, on the other hand, appear to be obsolete and require (assisted) modernization. ECOWAS has adopted a regulation to improve cooperation in the region and harmonize the rules with respect to food safety, and animal and plant health.[108] No specific trade concerns have been raised against The Gambia's SPS measures in the WTO SPS Committee. Food safety

3.76.  The Food Safety and Quality Act, 2011 applies to all food products of plant and animal origin destined for human consumption[109], and animal feed whether locally produced or imported. The legislation was notified to the SPS Committee in 2010.[110] The Act provides that SPS measures must be based on the principles of non-discrimination, scientific evidence, effectiveness, equity, proportionality, the use of precaution, and transparency (Art. 24-27). Subject to the constitution of The Gambia, the provisions of the Act prevail in the event of conflicting legislation (Art. 60).[111]

3.77.  The new Food Safety and Quality Authority (FSQA) became operational in July 2013 and reports to the Office of the Vice-President.[112] The agency is funded from the general budget and licensing fees; it has a staff of about 50 [July 2017]. The newly-established Food Control Advisory Committee has the task of providing advice to the Vice-President on the development of food safety legislation, and monitoring the performance of the FSQA with a view to ensuring compliance with international commitments (Art. 15)

3.78.  The FSQA's responsibilities comprise overall government surveillance to ensure compliance with safety and quality requirements for food and feed; inspections, sampling and certification for import and export (Art. 4); and promulgation of regulations (Art. 41). The FSQA also serves as the National Codex Alimentarius contact point and SPS enquiry point. Certain tasks previously performed by other Ministries have been transferred to the FSQA: a. control, licensing, and inspection of poultry establishments and slaughterhouses; inspection of slaughtered animals; control of poultry and animal products on farms and production sites (transferred from the Ministry of Agriculture); b. control of fish and fish products and fish processing establishments (transferred from the Ministry of Fisheries); c. control of food hygiene in food establishments and markets (transferred from the Ministry of Health)

3.79.  The general food import requirements provide that the food (or feed) must comply with the relevant requirements of the Act or equivalent conditions recognized by the FSQA or the requirements of any agreement between The Gambia and the exporting country (Art. 30).[113]

3.80.  In addition, the FSQA has issued guidelines for food importers, available on its website. Accordingly, all importers of food and feed must be registered (small-scale food businesses) or licensed (large-scale and importers/exporters), subject to exemptions that may be granted by the Vice-President (Art. 32). The FSQA will inspect premises and facilities, including vehicles or vessels. Importer permits (licences) are valid for one year, renewable. Licensed importers must submit an import declaration at least 21 days before arrival of the consignment; and, upon arrival, a certificate of origin and a certificate issued by the food safety authority of the exporting country

3.81.  Specific guidelines apply to imports of pre-packaged fresh or frozen meat and meat products (including offal). These are: importers require a consignment-specific import permit; the products must come from approved export establishments and be accompanied by an inspection certificate; and be labelled (name of product, date of slaughter, date of packaging). The same requirements apply to imports of frozen poultry products

3.82.  In July 2013, the Government announced a ban on imports of frozen poultry parts. The ban was lifted in November 2013, followed by a new requirement that imports of poultry products must be SGS-certified to be hormone-free. In October 2014, the Government banned the importation of beef offal (liver and kidney) regardless of origin, because of concerns over the manner in which it had been handled and sold to the public. The ban was lifted in 2014.[114]

3.83.  For potatoes, onions, and edible fat and oils, three (product-specific) food safety regulations were adopted that provide for standards based on Codex Alimentarius and national minimum quality requirements (size etc.). Imports of these products require, inter alia, an import permit issued by the FSQA

3.84.  In 2013, The Gambia adopted ten Codex-based food standards (Table A2.1). The Gambia has implemented the Codex Principles of Food Import and Export Inspection and Certification (CAC/GL 20-1995) and the Guidelines for Food Import Control Systems (AC/GL47/2003)

3.85.  There are four official testing laboratories, none of which has international accreditation: the National Agricultural Research Institute Laboratory, for aflatoxin testing on groundnuts (for exports, lab analysis is outsourced to Dakar-based and European labs); the Fisheries Laboratory, for microbiology testing of fish; the National Health Laboratory, for chemical testing of food items; and the Veterinary Laboratory, for microbiology testing of foods of animal origin and eggs; there is no local lab capacity for testing of honey. According to the Food Safety and Quality Act, official testing laboratories must comply with ISO Standard 17025 (Art. 53). The National Food Testing Laboratory (once operational) is to perform all food testing and seek international accreditation

3.86.  The authorities are developing regulations on certain matters such as labelling (Labelling of Pre-Packaged Foods Regulation), accreditation of testing laboratories, and the composition of food and feed. The Act prohibits false or misleading descriptions and requires labelling to be at least in English. Non-compliance with this provision may entail a fine of up to five hundred thousand dalasis, imprisonment not exceeding five years, or both. Veterinary measures

3.87.  The Directorate of Veterinary Services in the Ministry of Agriculture is responsible for animal health and veterinary measures.[115] The Gambia has been a member of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) since 2005. It is also a member of the African Union Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) in Nairobi

3.88.  The animal health regime appears to be obsolete. A modernized legal framework is to be developed in collaboration with the OIE, according to the authorities. The Directorate has adopted a "cautious approach" to cattle imports, following an outbreak of Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia in recent years. Phytosanitary measures

3.89.  The Directorate of Plant Protection Services in the Ministry of Agriculture, in its capacity as the National Plant Protection Organization (NPPO), is responsible for phytosanitary measures. It also participates in the National Disaster Management Agency in the event of disease outbreaks. The NPPO collaborates with the FSQS, as provided for in the IPPC

3.90.  The Gambia became a party to the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) on 17 November 2016.[116] It is also a member of the Inter-African Phytosanitary Council (a Regional Plant Protection Organization) in Yaound, Cameroon

3.91.  All imports of plants and plant products (commodities) require import permits and phytosanitary certifications issued by the national plant protection service of the country of origin. Import permits are issued by the Directorate, using a pest risk compendium (manual), which appears to be outdated, according to the authorities. Import requirements are to be updated, based on IPPC standards

3.92.  A Plant Health Protection Bill, 2014 has been drafted (with assistance from FAO) and is awaiting enactment. The new bill intends to repeal the present legal framework for phytosanitary measures (Prevention of Damage by Pests Act of 1962, and the Plant Importation and Regulation Act, 1996). Under the new legal framework, the NPPO has the authority, amongst others, to implement phytosanitary measures (based on science, pest risk assessment, and proportionality principles, and harmonized with international standards); issue import permits and phytosanitary certificates; establish lists of quarantine pests; carry out inspections and surveillance of growing plants; conduct inspections of consignments for internal movement, import, export and transit; notify and provide justification to other countries of phytosanitary measures and where phytosanitary import requirements are non-compliant with IPPC standards.[117] Under the new Plant Health Protection Bill, imports of regulated plants and plant products require a phytosanitary export certificate conforming to the IPPC model, and an import permit issued by the NPPO, which may waive the import permit upon pest risk analysis. All plants, plant products and regulated articles are subject to inspection at the border. The NPPO is also to set up a registry of import and export establishments

3.67.  The Gambia has made progress in the area of standards and technical requirements since the last TPR in 2010. Its standards regime is subject to ECOWAS rules on standard harmonization (ECOSHAM); the authorities state that ECOSHAM is based on WTO and ISO/IEC rules. The Gambia Standards Bureau Act 2010 is the main national legislation. The Gambia Standards Bureau (TGSB) under the Ministry of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration and Employment (MOTIE) became operational in 2011. The Bureau is responsible for standardizing methods, processes and products in the country, and is the WTO TBT enquiry point; the MOTIE is responsible for WTO notifications.[101] No specific trade concerns have been raised against The Gambia's TBT measures in the WTO TBT Committee

3.68.  Interested parties (public sector, private sector, academia, and the public) may submit proposals for national standards to TGSB. National standard technical committees under the TSGB prepare draft standards, and publish them for comments. The authorities indicated that a 60-day period is usually given for public comments; the TGSB provides written responses to comments received. Final texts of standards must be approved by the TGSB Board of Directors[102] prior to being declared by the Minister of Trade and published in the Government Gazette. In 2016, with support from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the TGSB began to develop a National Standardization Strategy for the period 2017-2020

3.69.  The authorities indicated that the TGSB, in practice, seeks as far as possible to adopt existing international standards when it prepares the Gambian standards; most Gambian standards currently in force are directly adopted from international standards except where necessary local adaptation has to be made to reflect Gambia-specific conditions (e.g. climate, geographical factors, indigenous products). The TGSB, as a participant in the process of ECOSHAM[103], adopts the harmonized regional standards as Gambian standards.[104] As of July 2017, The Gambia had adopted 33 national Gambian standards, covering, inter alia, wheat flour, groundnuts, sugars, rice, edible fats and oil, natural mineral water, bottled water, and pre-packaged food

3.70.  Under the Gambia Standards Bureau Act, all Gambian standards are voluntary except those designated as technical regulations in the respective legislation. Technical regulations are developed by sectoral regulatory bodies in close consultation with TGSB; all draft technical regulations must be vetted by a Technical Regulation Coordination Committee before submission to the legislature. Currently, there are no technical regulations in force that are based on standards

3.71.  TGSB does not carry out market surveillance operations[105] and does not have standards officers at any border posts. There are no provisions on certification requirements for both imports and locally produced goods. TGSB provides conformity assessment of products, upon request

3.72.  TGSB is a member of the following international organizations: the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and the Standards and Metrology Institute for Islamic Countries (SMIIC). The Gambia has no mutual recognition agreements (MRAs) with any countries, nor is it a member of any international accreditation organization such as the International Accreditation Forum, Inc. (IAF)

3.73.  Telecommunication equipment, including radio communication devices, is subject to type-approval tests before being placed in the market. The type-approval tests are carried out by the Public Utility Regulatory Authority (PURA). According to the authorities, technical standards applied to telecommunication equipment are based on parameters recommended by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)

3.74.  Labelling requirements[106] are enforced by the Food Safety and Quality Authority (FSQA). The FSQA is in the process of preparing a regulation on labelling of pre-packaged food.[107]