The certificates were presented at a closing ceremony officiated by the Deputy Secretary General (Entrepreneurs) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Y.Bhg. Dato’ Mohd. Hashim Abdullah, who was the founder of the QuEST Bioherba programme.
Also present at the ceremony were the FRIM Director General, Y.Bhg. Dato' Dr Abd. Latif Mohmod; the Promotion and Marketing Division Director of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), En. Mohamad Khir Mat Lazim; and the FRIM Medicinal Plants Division Director, Dr. Rasadah Mat Ali.
Among the guests were representatives from the 15 participating companies as well as those from five companies under the FRIM-MTDC FMBiosis programme.
Prior to the closing ceremony, the participants were engaged in dialogues with representatives from the Health Ministry and Halal Industry Development Corporation Sdn. Bhd. (HDC) on the Control of Food Quality and the halal accreditation respectively. There were also presentations by FRIM researchers on the pre- and post-harvest regime of misai kucing; the applications of mas cotek varieties; and the use of FRIM Technology logo.
The QuEST Bioherba programme was initiated in 2006 and conducted by FRIM with support from the Ministry of Entrepreneur and Co-operative Development (MECD) to strengthen the capacity, understanding and scientific knowledge of aspiring entrepreneurs in herbal industry, as well as to assist them in enhancing the quality, safety and efficacy of their products through use of safe technology.
Apart from the certificates, the entrepreneurs also received earlier the results of assessments conducted on their herbal products and/or raw materials to determine their quality, safety, efficacy and potential uses, for future improvement and development in compliance with the regulations of the National Bureau of Pharmaceutical Control (BPFK).
