MEETING OF COMMITTEE ON QUALITY
IPC Committee on Quality Standardization: The International Pepper Community had constituted a Committee on Quality Standardization during the Special Meeting held at Jakarta in 1998. The committee comprises of experts from the industry as well as official representatives from the member countries. Through this Committee, IPC has established IPC Grades and Standards, including a Manual of Methods of Analyses and A Guideline on Good Manufacturing Practices for Pepper Establishments. A program of activities has been planned to make the use of these standards more effective. These include :
- A proposal to train laboratory and other personnel involved in quality testing. The proposal seeks FAO funding for the training to be held in member countries.
- An inter-lab proficiency testing programme for all labs involved in analysis of pepper quality from member countries; at present labs from Malaysia, India and Indonesia are participating in this programme.
- Promotion of the IPC Standards among producing and consuming countries;
- Representation to national and international agencies involved in setting standards so that the views of producing countries are given due significance.