Training Course at the CNA
Post: Spanish Agency for Consumer Affairs, Food Safety and Nutrition
Date: 28 junio 2017
Section: Agencia española de Consumo, Seguridad alimentaria y Nutrición
The National Food Centre (CNA), as part of their duties as a National Laboratory of Reference, has organised a training course on the “Adecuación de los alcances de acreditación de laboratorios que participan en el control oficial” (Adaptation of the accreditation scope for laboratories taking part in the official controls).
The laboratories deignated by the competent authorities for the official control of food products play an essential role.
The currently applicable legislation in this area establishes, as a necessary condition, that the designated laboratories shall have an accreditation scope which includes all the test methods used by the laboratory.
This requirement implies that these laboratories may require accreditation strategies additional to the traditional strategies using “closed tests” (specific accreditation “by matrix and analyte” with specified operating ranges and limits). Nevertheless, the experience of the CNA (AECOSAN) in over 15 years of work indicates that it is reasonable to adopt an additional accreditation strategy using “flexible scopes”.
This strategy is particularly useful when a laboratory foresees the need to include new matrices and analytes in their accredited scope (in a reliable and expeditious manner without the prior intervention of the National Accreditation Body -ENAC-) in order to correctly fulfil its duties.
The course was held on 14 June 2017, and a total of 26 representatives from 19 official control laboratories from different Autonomous Communities took part.
The objective of the course was to promote the accreditation of tests used in the official controls, and to optimise the accredited scopes and the laboratory resources placing special emphasis on the use of the tool provided by the flexible scopes (NT 18 and NT 19 of ENAC).
The programme focussed on the following areas:
- Management of flexible scopes in accordance with requirements of NT-18 and NT-19 of ENAC (Test categories. Revision of applications, tenders and contracts. Initial validation. Additional validation. LEBA (List of tests under accreditation) and LPE (Public list of tests). List of validated tests. Issuance of accredited results: Test reports)
- Maintenance of test categories: quality control management (Applicable ENAC Technical Notes and Guides: NT-03; G-ENAC-14)
The course placed special emphasis on the additional requirements necessary for the introduction and accreditation of the “flexible scopes” using test categories, especially in those relating to the added management capacity and the level of added technical competence as required in the ENAC Technical Notes.
The course was well received by all the participants.