(Advanced to Step 5 of the Codex Procedure with recommendations to omit Steps 6 and 7 for adoption by the Commission at Step 8)
SCOPE
1. These guidelines provide a framework for the implementation of quality assurance measures to ensure the competence of testing laboratories involved in the import and export control of foods.
2. These guidelines are intended to assist countries in the application of requirements for trade in foodstuffs and in determining equivalency in order to protect the consumers and to facilitate fair trade.
REQUIREMENTS
3. The following quality criteria should be adopted by laboratories involved in the import and export control of foods:
- Compliance with the general criteria for testing laboratories laid down in ISO/IEC Guide 25:1990 "General requirements for the competence of calibration and testing laboratories;4. The bodies assessing the laboratories referred to above should comply with the general criteria for laboratory accreditation, such as those laid down in the ISO/IEC Guide 58:1993: "Calibration and testing laboratory accreditation systems - General requirements for operation and recognition".- Participation in appropriate proficiency testing schemes for food analysis which conform to the requirements laid down in "The International Harmonized Protocol for the Proficiency Testing of (Chemical) Analytical Laboratories", Pure & Appl. Chem. 65 (1993) 2132-2144;
- Whenever available, use methods of analysis which have been validated according to the principles laid down by the Codex Alimentarius Commission; and
- Use internal quality control procedures, such as those described in the "Harmonized Guidelines for Internal Quality Control in Analytical Chemistry Laboratories", Pure & Appl. Chem. 67 (1995) 649-666.
