Competence and the right to work under the new international standard are confirmed

The Seed Quality Testing Laboratory, one of the first specialized laboratories of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food of the Republic of Belarus, confirmed its competence and the right to switch to a new version of the fundamental standard of activity - GOST ISO/IEC 17025-2019.

Work on the transition to a new version of the international standard started in the laboratory at the end of last year. It covered a revision of all areas - from the management system to technical competence and the introduction of strict international regulatory requirements for all processes and procedures of laboratory practice.

In the period from May to June 2020, the laboratory underwent a comprehensive competence assessment by a number of experts from the Belarusian State Accreditation Center (BSAC), who assessed the level of competence and readiness of the laboratory to work according to the international standard.

At a recent meeting of the technical commission on accreditation of BSAC, based on the results of the review of the assessment of the complex competence of the laboratory and its personnel, a positive decision was made to confirm competence and issue an accreditation certificate for compliance with the new international standard.

In addition, the laboratory retained the right to use the combined sign of the international association for accreditation ILAC.

The state standard GOST ISO/IEC 17025-2019 "General requirements for the competence of test and calibration laboratories" is valid in our country from October 1, 2019, and from the beginning of 2020 the transition of all accredited laboratories of the republic to the version of this standard began.

The application of this international standard ensures confidence in the test results and implements the basic principle: tested once - recognized everywhere, including the international level.

The new version is based on modern laboratory approaches based on IT technologies, process and risk-oriented management, and the presentation of clear and strict requirements for the level of staff competence in accredited laboratories.

Timely introduction of GOST ISO/IEC 17025-2019 will increase confidence in the activity of domestic laboratories, promote simplification of procedures of results recognition of the researches conducted at regional and international level, and, as a result, will improve the quality of products and its export potential.

S.V.Egorov

Head of Quality of Seeds Testing Laboratory