The SA Bureau of Standards (SABS) should be engaged to speed up the standardisation of traditional medicine, President Jacob Zuma says.
Opening a new SABS laboratory complex in Groenkloof, Pretoria, Zuma said the country needed to establish national standards in traditional medicine.
"Studies have shown that 70 percent of our total population depends on traditional medicine for primary health."
Zuma said the government was committed to bringing traditional medicine into the mainstream of health care in an appropriate manner.
The new state-of-the-art laboratories provide testing, inspection and certification services for chemicals, pharmaceuticals, textiles, clothing and footwear products.
Zuma said standards were not only beneficial to commerce and trade, but also created a safer consumer market.
"In this regard, the newly formulated Consumer Protection Act will increase the need for our manufacturers to demonstrate compliance to national standards."
The testing facility, valued at R165 million, comprises nine laboratories designed to help South African manufacturers meet local and international quality and safety requirements.