Laboratory accreditation and quality control

Although the legislative requirements apply only to food-control laboratories, the effect of their adoption is that other food laboratories will be advised to achieve the same standard in order for their results to be recognised as equivalent and accepted for due diligence purposes. In addition, the Codex 

As shown above, these include a laboratory to be third-party assessed to international accreditation standards, to demonstrate that it is in statistical control by using appropriate internal quality control procedures, to participate in proficiency testing schemes which provide an objective means of assessing and documenting the reliability of the data it is producing and to use methods of analysis that are fit-for-purpose . These requirements are summarised below and then described in greater detail later in this chapter. 

The AMFC Directive requires that food-control laboratories should be accredited to the EN 45000 series of standards as supplemented by some of the OECD GLP principles. In the UK, government departments will nominate the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) to carry out the accreditation of official food-control laboratories for all the aspects prescribed in the Directive. However, as the accreditation agency will also be required to comply to EN 45003 Standard and to cany out assessments in accordance with the EN 45002 Standard, any other accreditation agencies that are members of the European Co-operation for Accreditation of Laboratories (EA) may also be nominated to cany out the accreditation. Similar procedures will be followed in the other Member States, all having or developing equivalent organisations to UKAS. 

Food-control laboratories seeking to be accredited for the purposes of the Directive should include, as a minimum, the following techniques in generic protocols HPLC, GC, atomic absorption and/or ICP (and microscopy). A further protocol on sample preparation procedures (including digestion and solvent dissolution procedures) should also be developed. Other protocols for generic methods which are acceptable to UKAS may also be developed. Proximate analyses should be addressed as a series of specific methods including moisture, fat, protein and ash determinations. 

Where specific Regulations are in force then the methods associated with the Regulations shall be accredited if the control laboratory wishes to offer enforcement of the Regulations to customers. Examples of these are methods of analysis for aflatoxins and methods of analysis for specific and overall migration for food contact materials. 

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