FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 2000-05-02

First Lab Accredited for Test Method Development (R & D)

OTTAWA - The first laboratory has been accredited in a program for test method development that is expected to lead to greater confidence in the area of research and development.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency's (CFIA) Centre for Veterinary Drug Residues has been accredited by the Standards Council of Canada's Program for the Accreditation of Laboratories-Canada (PALCAN). Under the program specialty area of research and development, the CFIA's Centre for Veterinary Drug Residues located at the Health of Animals Laboratory in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, has been accredited to test within the scope of animal and plants and food and edible products.

"Staff involved in both testing and test method development now operate under a seamless quality system, in all aspects of their work. Once quality had become a part of the institutional culture in our testing program, the benefits were so apparent that it was a natural progression to extend it to test method development.", noted Valerie Martz, Quality Manager for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency's Centre for Veterinary Drug Residues. "From an internal perspective the program brings issues such as non-routine testing, instrument maintenance and calibration, record keeping and reference standards under control. Externally accreditation brings recognition and credibility to the test method development program and the Laboratory as a whole."

The Standards Council has been accrediting laboratories since 1981. Accreditation provides international recognition of a lab's competence, enhancing its marketability and increasing consumer confidence in its abilities.

Guidelines for the Accreditation of Laboratories Engaged in Test Method Development and Evaluation and Non-Routine Testing (CAN-P-1595) is used to accredit laboratories working in the area of R & D. Requests for application packages for laboratory accreditation can be forwarded to the Standards Council's Program Officer, Laboratories.

The Standards Council of Canada is the federal Crown corporation that oversees the National Standards System. Its Program for Accreditation of Laboratories - Canada (PALCAN) has accredited over 240 laboratories in a variety of general testing and specialty areas.

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