EuFooD-STA webinar "EN ISO/IEC 17025 Standard - General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories. Food Safety Application"

The Codex Alimentarius, or the food code, has become the global reference point for consumers, food producers and processors, national food control agencies and the international food trade. This code acknowledged harmonization of quality assurance of food-testing laboratories as an important piece to achieve its goals. As a result were established criteria for competence of testing laboratories involved in the import and export of foods, in compliance with most of requirements settle down by EN ISO/IEC 17025. Some of the advantages of adopting a quality management system, as EN ISO/IEC 17025, relate to international recognition, costs savings, waste reducing and access to global market place. This Standard specifies the general requirements for the competence to carry out tests and/or calibrations, including sampling. It covers testing and calibration performed using standard methods, non-standard methods, and laboratory-developed methods. The requirements are divided in two types, management and technical requirements, both of them assessed in the accreditation process. The webinar will approach the Standard and its requirements, as well as the following steps in the accreditation process under the EN ISO/IEC 17025 referencial. The presenter, Nuno Ribeiro, is Environmental engineer and Quality Management Systems Auditor at the Polytechnic Institute of Coimbra, Portugal.