Food and Health E-ssentials

US FDA Proposes Laboratory Accreditation Program for Food Testing

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has proposed implementing a laboratory accreditation programme for the evaluation and testing of human and animal foods under certain circumstances.

According to a Proposed Rule published in early November in the Federal Register, the program would require the use of an accredited testing laboratory in the following cases:

• When testing is required to address an identified or suspected food safety problem; 
• When testing is required to provide evidence to support the admissibility of imported food into the US;
• When testing is required to support the removal of a food from an import alert;
• When testing is required to address an identified or suspected food safety problem and presented to the FDA as evidence to be considered before a mandatory recall order; and
• When testing is required in response to a food testing order.

Under the FDA’s proposal, testing laboratories would be evaluated for accreditation by an Accreditation Body (AB) recognised by the FDA, with the evaluation based on the requirements of ISO/IEC 17011:2017 and ISO/IEC 17025:2017. 

The text of the FDA’s proposal for the accreditation of laboratories for food testing as published in the Federal Register is available here. Comments on the FDA’s proposed laboratory accreditation program can be submitted on or before 3 March 2020 through the US federal electronic filing system.