Standards and Metrology Board Approves and Updates 122 New Specifications

The Standards and Metrology Board Approves and Updates 122 New Specifications

Today, the second meeting for 2023 of the Board of Directors of the Palestinian Standards and Metrology Institution was held, chaired by the Minister of National Economy, Khaled Al-Asili, and attended by the Director General of the institution, Eng. Haider Hajjeh.

At the start of the meeting, the board members welcomed the new member, Nasar Nasar, the Chairman of the General Federation of Palestinian Industries.

The meeting discussed many important topics that, when implemented, would promote the national industry and enhance its competitiveness in local and international markets.

The board decided to approve 43 new Palestinian specifications and update 79 existing Palestinian specifications in various fields including construction products, cosmetics, food products, textiles and clothing, medical devices and supplies, metals, electrotechnical products, agricultural products and crops, petroleum derivatives, surfactants, paints and varnishes, plastics, furniture, and personal protective equipment.

The board also ratified 61 Palestinian specifications that were reviewed and confirmed valid, and recommended the cancellation of 6 specifications upon the advice of the drafting committees, after five years of their approval, in line with the specifications preparation instructions.

Furthermore, the board recommended specifying the competent authorities responsible for monitoring and inspection of the application of mandatory technical instructions:

• The Ministry of National Economy will oversee the inspection of mandatory technical instruction No. (107-2023) concerning energy labeling for refrigeration devices (refrigerators).

• The Ministry of Health and the Ministry of National Economy will be responsible for the inspection of mandatory technical instruction No. (108-2023) related to water prepared for human consumption.

• The Ministry of Health and the Ministry of National Economy will also supervise the application of mandatory technical instruction No. (109-2023) concerning plastic materials and utensils intended to come into contact with food.

• The Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Technology, along with the Ministry of National Economy, will oversee the implementation of mandatory technical instruction No. (110-2023), which amends mandatory technical instruction No. (68-2017) related to electromagnetic compatibility.

The board reviewed a report on the visit of a delegation from the Palestinian Standards and Metrology Institution to the Russian Federation last month. During the visit, a meeting was held with the Director General of the Russian Standards Authority to discuss several issues for potential future cooperation. It was agreed that Russia would supply the institution with necessary measuring devices to develop its capabilities, including a reference device for temperature calibration required for the institution’s temperature calibration laboratories, as well as new devices to expand into fields such as blood pressure and oxygen measurement calibration.

Discussions also included ways to establish mutual recognition of a number of products, which will be listed later. This includes mutual recognition of quality certificates issued by the Palestinian institution in Russia and recognition of quality certificates issued by the Russian Standards Authority in Palestine, with plans to generalize mutual recognition to other products in the future.

The board also participated in the Russia-Islamic World Development Conference held in Kazan. The participation included presenting a paper on Palestine’s experience in granting Halal certificates. The paper introduced attendees to the Halal certificate issued by the institution, its granting system and requirements, the process of obtaining the certificate, and how the institution is working to develop the system and open cooperation with related external parties to increase product credibility. Reference was also made to certificates the institution grants in various fields.

Additionally, participation included a roundtable discussion on granting Halal certificates in some Islamic countries, reviewing different applied systems in this area, and how to enforce strict standards for Halal certificate issuers to enhance consumer confidence.

At the end of the session, the board reviewed the cumulative report for the first quarter of the 2023 executive plan and approved it.