Togo sets up national lab to enforce food safety standards

Agriculture

Friday, 24 April 2026 11:49

Togo sets up national lab to enforce food safety standards

(Togo First) - Togo has launched a National Laboratory for Food Safety and Phytosanitary Control (LaNSA). President Jean-Lucien Savi de Tové inaugurated the facility on Thursday, April 23, 2026, as part of celebrations marking the country’s 66th independence anniversary.

The laboratory will test food products and products of plant and animal origin, and assess sanitary and phytosanitary risks.

According to its director, Komla Sanda, LaNSA is intended to serve as a reference institution to protect consumer health, ensure the phytosanitary quality of agricultural output, and boost the competitiveness of Togo’s agricultural and agri-food exports on regional and international markets.

As a public scientific and technological institution, the laboratory has a dual mandate: to support the implementation of national sanitary and phytosanitary policies, and to assist economic operators in agropoles, cooperatives and the agri-food industry in certifying their products for domestic and export markets.

To achieve these objectives, the laboratory “will rely on a strategy focused on performance, quality and international accreditation, as well as on partnerships and stronger communication to mobilize resources,” Sanda said.

At launch, LaNSA will assess the nutritional quality of food and animal feed, and detect hazardous contaminants such as heavy metals, including lead, and mycotoxins. From June 2026, it will expand its services to include pesticide residue analysis.

Esaïe Edoh

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