Local leader in quality testing goes global

CERTIFIER Chemist Pinky Tobiano founded Qualibet, a testing laboratory in Project 7, Quezon City. —CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Qualibet Testing Services Corp. wants to help micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) level up by enabling them to meet the government’s quality, safety and health standards.

Chemist Pinky Tobiano, founder of Qualibet, a testing laboratory recognized by government agencies and a member of the American Chemical Society and American Association of Analytical Chemists, says the company wants to help MSMEs comply with registration requirements of government regulatory agencies through quality testing and good housekeeping checks, among other things.

MSMEs could have their products and services tested to facilitate registration with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), for instance.

Qualibet’s facilities and services in Quezon City are now at par with global standards following its partnership with Bureau Veritas, a recognized world leader in testing, inspection and certification services; and AsureQuality, a premier food quality assurance service that provides the broadest range of food assurance services in New Zealand, with over 100 years of experience working in the food and primary production sectors.

Through BVAQ, as the new partnership is known, the erstwhile Qualibet says it “has further strengthened its testing capabilities and expertise” that would enable it to provide even better and stronger support for clients in the food and pharmaceutical, veterinary, agricultural, cosmetics, and hotel and restaurant industries.

The new alliance makes Qualibet part of a global network of 1,600 offices and laboratories. Given its access to the global network, Qualibet is now in a better position to “fully support the needs of the [local] industry through its wide array of testing, inspection and certification services.”

Seal of safety

Producers can undergo BVAQ’s battery of tests to speed up the certification of the quality and safety of their products. MSMEs that are applying for FDA registration, in particular, may submit products for quality testing with BVAQ. Positive results from BVAQ’s tests would make registration easier and faster.

Consumers, on the other hand, can seek the laboratory’s services to verify if certain products’ claims of nutritional contents and/or “guaranteed” results are valid. The service may be particularly useful with the proliferation of online shops selling anything and everything from nutritional supplements and health boosters to cosmetics and other beauty enhancing products.

Fees for testing range from P5,000 to P10,000.

Tobiano, who is now a member of BVAQ’s board of directors, says individuals and families might want to have their water source tested. She says condominium dwellers and those working in high-rises might want to avail of the laboratory’s water testing services, as water quality might be poorer the higher the floor in multistory structures.

Tobiano, who founded Qualibet to protect Filipino consumers by assuring quality and safety of food, water, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, animal feeds and other veterinary products, considers going into this new partnership with reputable international organizations a major step in achieving the goal of a “safe and better Philippines.”

—Contributed