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Preparing Food andFeed Laboratories forISO 17025 AccreditationThe Associations Cooperative Agreement with FDASpecific Aim #1:Resources, strategies and toolsto support ISO/IEC 17025:2005laboratory accreditationAssociation of American Feed Control Officials
Preparing Food and FeedLaboratories for ISO17025 AccreditationThrough a cooperative agreement with FDA’s Office ofPartnerships, APHL, AFDO and AAFCO are preparingfood and feed regulatory testing laboratories seekingto achieve, maintain and enhance accreditation tothe ISO/IEC 17025:2005 standard. Objectives of thework include: developing laboratory training programs aroundaccreditation building a mentoring program for laboratories atvarious stages of accreditation reaching national consensus on equivalency enabling direct electronic sharing of analyticaldata improving communication among federal, state,and local testing laboratories and with theirassociated regulatory and public health programs building a framework for unified laboratoryresponse to food/feed safety emergencies expanding a proficiency testing program for feedlaboratories improving the rapid submission of isolates to thepublic health system
Specific Aim #1: Resources,strategies, and tools to supportISO/IEC 17025:2005 laboratoryaccreditationDesign, develop, document, deliver, manageand implement support programs for ISO/IEC17025:2005 accreditation of food and animal feedregulatory laboratories.Under this Specific Aim, APHL is leading efforts ofthe Food and Feed Testing Subcommittee to: Gather resources, such as SOPs and requiredaccreditation documents, from memberlaboratories that have achieved some level ofISO/IEC 17025:2005 laboratory accreditation Utilize the knowledge and experience of QualityAssurance officers from accredited laboratoriesto create summaries of lessons learned,accreditation strategies and best practices Assess the current accreditation status of foodand feed testing laboratories as well as theresources available to support laboratories thatwish to achieve, maintain or enhance the scope oftheir accreditation Create a national work plan designed to moveall laboratories further along the accreditationcontinuum, making the best use of availableresources.
Member Involvement At least 12 different groups comprised ofmembers from APHL, AAFCO and AFDOare working on nine specific aims of theCooperative Agreement. Most groups meet via monthly conferencecalls and an annual face-to-face meeting. APHL hosts a Food and Feed LaboratoryAccreditation Discussion Board, an onlineforum for laboratory professionals toexchange information related to the processof becoming accredited to the ISO 17025standard.Food and Feed Testing SubcommitteeAccreditation Activities Subcommittee members compiled a set of toolsand resources, based on ISO/IEC 17025:2005categories, for inclusion in an on-line ResourceCenter that is freely accessible to Food and Feedlaboratorians. Subcommittee members responded to a“Question of the week” regarding best practicesor lessons they learned along their paths toaccreditation, such as in-house checklists,databases created to track corrective actions,root cause analyses, etc. The subcommittee developed a small set ofquestions to assess the current accreditationstatus and intentions of governmental food andfeed laboratories nationwide; responses weresolicited via a listserv that reaches agriculturelaboratory staff. The subcommittee identified the best platformfor sharing documents and other informationrelevant to accreditation of food and feedlaboratories to the ISO/IEC 17025:2005standard. The subcommittee regularly contributes tothe Food and Feed Laboratory AccreditationDiscussion Board.
Charges of the Food and FeedSubcommittee In collaboration with AAFCO and AFDO,ensure that there is a home for non-federal,governmental Food and Feed TestingLaboratories, and work to define howAPHL can better meet the needs of theselaboratories. Assist member laboratories in realizing thebenefits of extramural funding opportunities. Contribute to efforts to achieve theAssociations Cooperative Agreementdeliverables related to laboratoryaccreditation. Many of these activities area continuation of the Partnership for FoodProtection workgroups. Identify training needs among the Food andFeed testing laboratory community, andwork with the Accreditation Training SteeringCommittee led by APHL to develop training. Enhance intrastate communicationand collaboration among governmentallaboratories (including Agricultural, StateChemist, Environmental, and Public HealthLaboratories) that provide food and feedtesting services.
Accomplishments Creation of web pages to support Food andAnimal Feed Testing Laboratories seekingAccreditation, including a repository of ISO/IEC17025:2005 resources such as best practices,standard procedures, and work plans. As ofOctober 8, 2013, 172 documents under 14 ISOcategories were posted. Hosting of a Food and Feed LaboratoryAccreditation Discussion Board, an onlineforum for the exchange of information related tobecoming accredited to the ISO/IEC 17025:2005standard. Interested parties are encouraged tojoin the board by contacting Dare Akingbade atdare.akingbade@aphl.org. Development of a spreadsheet of currentlyavailable ISO/IEC 17025:2005 training. Delivery of three live webinars (two on DocumentControl Software, and one on ComplianceManagement Software) that demonstratedcommercially available tools that may be of valueto laboratories seeking accreditation to the ISO/IEC 17025:2005 standard.Impact Enhanced and improved partnership amongthe three associations, their members and FDA,leading to more efficient and effective foodprotection efforts. Progress towards a unified food/feed laboratorysystem, which will ensure that test results fromstate and local laboratories are acceptable forregulatory and compliance purposes. Protection of public health through uniformlaboratory practices via accreditation to thestandards of ISO/IEC 17025:2005. Creation of an atmosphere for personnel fromboth ISO/IEC 17025 accredited and nonaccredited laboratories to interact and learnfrom one another regarding best practices andsolutions to daily challenges in achieving andmaintaining accreditation.This project was 100% funded with federal funds from a federalprogram of 750,000.JANUARY 2014
17025:2005 accreditation of food and animal feed regulatory laboratories. Under this Specific Aim, APHL is leading efforts of . the Food and Feed Testing Subcommittee to: Gather resources, such as SOPs and required accreditation documents, from member laboratories that have achieved some level of ISO/IEC 17025:2005 laboratory accreditation
