Starting January Georgia Accredited to Certify Honey for Export

The laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture will receive accreditation to conduct honey research in January, Lali Madzgarashvili, Director of the laboratory, said.

According to Madzgarashvili, the validation process of all the research methods indicators (antibiotics, pesticides and heavy metals) has been completed at the last meeting with the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) experts.

“Another visit of the foreign specialists is being planned in January, after which accreditation will be finally adopted. Accordingly, our work will be extended and we will offer new methods to interested parties along with other studies,” said Madzgarashvili.

Honey-producing cooperatives which are part of the beekeeping development program will be offered testing evaluation for the new criteria for free. Others will have to pay a service price of 250 GEL, Madzgarashvili explained.

Mandatory indicators research was not possible to conduct in Georgia previously, the samples had to be sent to the Baltic States, where a sample research costs about EUR 2,000.