Voluntary certification

Until 1990 the EPA maintained a Hst of chemicals suitable for potable water treatment ia the United States. Siace then the entire question of certification and standards has been turned over to a group of organi2ations headed by the National Sanitation Eoundation, which has issued voluntary standards. As of January 1992, standards had been issued for most of the principal inorganic products, but only for two polymers, poly(DADMAC) and Epi-DMA (epichl orohydrin dimethyl amine) polymers (78). Certifications for commercial products meeting specified standards are issued by the National Sanitation Eoundation, Underwriter Laboratories, and Risk Eocus/Versar (79). 

If you are making a voluntary revision to a previous Form R submission, enter Voluntary Revision" in the space marked This space for your optional use" on aHfive pages of the form. If you have obtained the Document Control Number (DCN) of the original submission from EPA, enter that number also in this space. Enter the revised data to the Form R and circle it in red ink. Sign the certification and provide a current date. 

ISO 9000 is not a statutory requirement and neither is certification, hence certification is voluntary. However, suppliers may be under pressure to obtain registration to ISO 9001, ISO 9002, or ISO 9003 in order to tender for contracts. Within the ISO 9000 certification scheme, the certification industry is regulated by accreditation bodies. An International Accreditation Forum (lAF) attempts to harmonize accreditation practices world-wide through ISO Guide 61. The accreditation bodies authorize certification bodies to conduct certification to prescribed standards - a process that is called accreditation. The accreditation body performs witness audits and desk audits of the certification body to ensure compliance with the conditions of accreditation. 

Since 1994, the automotive industry in the USA and Europe has been operating quality system certification schemes that extended the requirements of ISO 9001, ISO 10011, and EN 45012. One of these schemes was addressed by my QS-9000 Quality S /stems Handbook, published in 1996. In the same year the automakers of the USA and Europe formed the International Automotive Task Force (lATF) which, in cooperation with the technical committee of the International Organization of Standardization (TO 176), produced ISO/TS 16949. Use of and registration to this new standard is currently voluntary. It is intended that following the first revision to incorporate ISO 9000 2000, the ISO/TS 16949 certification scheme will be mandated by all major vehicle manufacturers on their Tier 1 suppliers. As a result, the standard will be cascaded along the supply chain, ultimately reaching all suppliers to the global automotive industry. 

Liu, P., Andersen, M. and Pazderka, C. (2004). Voluntary Standards and Certification for Environmentally and Socially Responsible Agricultural Production and Trade, FAO Commodities and Trade Technical Paper No 5, Commodities and Trade Division, Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations. 

Over the years that followed, an overwhelming majority of the primary dyes used in food came from certified lots. Both the number of batches and the total pounds certified grew steadily over the life of the Wiley Act. Thus the voluntary certification plan worked reasonably well. With the enactment of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938, food color certification became mandatory. Although somewhat modified, in response to changed scientific standards, by the Color Additive Amendment of 1960, Hesse s procedures remain today the basis of American regulatory policy. 

Voluntary standards and inspection systems began to develop independently in parts of Europe, the US and Australia. Their growth and development were organic in themselves, primarily driven by the producers and concerned consumers. Many of the early certification programmes developed as producer/consumer groups and some (Soil Association, California Certified Organic Farmers) retain this balance today. 

The Regulation (Annex III) set out a minimum frequency of on-site (farm, factory premises or warehouse) inspections of one per year and specified the information that was to be retained by the operator and verified by the inspection body to determine compliance. In some instances the level of record-keeping was increased from the previous voluntary systems in place and some operators have complained at the additional burden this imposes. The burden was felt most by small growers, and this, along with the increasing cost of certification, has led to many small enterprises leaving the certification system. 

Directive 94 /9 /EC can be applied on a voluntary basis starting on 1996-03-01. The procedures for certification according to the old directives referring... 

In October 2002, the USDA began enforcing a set of national standards that food labeled organic must meet, whether it is grown in the United States or imported from other countries. The use of the seal is voluntary, so some organic food products may not carry the new label, but all organic products will carry notification of third-party certification. 

The Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Site (VIPPS) program is a voluntary certification program for online pharmacies and is sponsored by the NABP This program, initiated in 1999, provides a means for online pharmacies to demonstrate compliance with VIPPS criteria including patient rights to privacy, authentication and security of prescription orders, adherence to a... 

The Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 listed seven colors, based on the work of Dr. Bernhard Hesse, and the Department of Agriculture made provisions for certification of all food colors on a voluntary basis. 

Examples are EU and/or FDA for a pharmaceutical industry selling products to the European Union and the United States, respectively EPA for environmental issues in the United States, military, hospital, and nuclear standards for these industries. Some standards are voluntary, e.g., standardization/accreditation programs such as ISO. Here the industry has asked for a certification or accreditation according to the standard. There may also be internal standards in any company based on a combination of external standards and internal standards. 

Certification is a voluntary process by which a practitioner s education, experience, knowledge, and skills are confirmed by one s profession as meeting or surpassing a standard beyond that required for licensure. The standards and processes for certification (unlike those for licensure) are established by a professional, nongovernmental agency. BPS certification is at the specialty level and signifies that an individual has met a national professional standard and demonstrated mastery of a body of knowledge, skills, and abilities in an advanced level in a specialized area of practice. 

The Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB) was established in 1995 as a national voluntary certification program for pharmacy technicians. Its founders were the American Pharmaceutical Association, the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, the Illinois Council of Health-System Pharmacists, and the Michigan Pharmacists Association. 

There are two types of PICs in the United States— AAPCC Certified Regional Poison Information Centers (RPICs) and nonregional centers. All centers that chose not to participate in the voluntary certification process or fail to become certified are defined as nonregional centers. (See Appendix 1 for the complete description of the AAPCC certification criteria.) In summary, RPICs do the following ... 

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