Quality Management

Since its creation, LABERCA has wished to set up a quality approach in order, on the one hand, to guarantee the reliability of the data produced and the traceability of its work and, on the other hand, to maintain a high level of satisfaction of the interested parties.

 

The LABERCA quality system has been built over the years according to three different standards (ISO 17025, ISO 9001 and ISO 17043) which themselves have undergone normative changes (revision of ISO 9001 in 2015 and revision ISO 17025 in 2017). Normative revisions tend to make the accreditation framework converge towards the certification framework, in particular through the process approach and the analysis of risks and opportunities, now at the heart of the laboratory's quality system.

 

The LABERCA quality system now covers all of its activities. It has always been, and is still considered to be a tool shared by all, essential for improving performance and achieving the objectives that the laboratory has set for itself.

NF EN ISO/CEI 17025 Accreditation

Initiated since 1992, the quality policy of LABERCA was first of all exclusively focused on its activity of analysis services. In April 1995, LABERCA was accredited for the first time in accordance with standard EN45001. The constant evolution of the LABERCA quality assurance system allowed a natural transition to ISO 17025 in 2001.

 

It was in 2004 that LABERCA made its request to COFRAC to be audited according to ISO 17025 in flexible scope of FLEX 3 type. This principle of flexible scope indicates that the laboratory is recognised as competent to implement, in the field covered by its general scope, any unrecognized method which it will have previously validated. This type of scope allows LABERCA to respond to one of its missions as a National Reference Laboratory: the implementation of accreditation of new methods developed in-house then their deployment with departmental application laboratories.

 

LABERCA is accredited by COFRAC according to standard NF EN ISO/CEI 17025 for the LAB GTA 25, 26 and 30 programs. The general scope of accreditation covers the analysis of organic contaminants in foodstuffs intended for humans or animals, biological matrices of animal or human origin as well as environmental matrices. It also includes the analysis of substances authorized or not (anabolic) for veterinary or zootechnical use as well as the analysis of cysteine as a food additive.  

LABERCA has been accredited according to the 2017 version of standard 17025 since the first half of 2019.

The LABERCA accreditation certificate for its analysis activities can be viewed here.

NF EN ISO/CEI 17043 Accreditation

In 2014, LABERCA obtains as National Reference Laboratory COFRAC accreditation for its activities of organization of inter-laboratory tests in flexible scope according to the ISO 17043 standard.

 

The LABERCA accreditation certificate for its activity of organizing interlaboratory tests can be viewed here.

NF EN ISO 9001 Certification

In addition to this accreditation process, LABERCA has sought to have the quality of its research activities recognized. The laboratory has therefore gradually moved towards the ISO 9001 standard and has initiated actions for its quality management system to meet the requirements of this standard. This investment was completed in March 2003; when LABERCA was audited and certified according to the ISO 9001 standard with regard to the management of research projects: design, conduct and development.

 

It was in 2008 that LABERCA requested certification according to ISO 9001 for its teaching activities as part of the SARAF training. The extension of the certification was pronounced in 2008 and its scope is as follows: design and organization of food safety trainings.

In 2017, the laboratory is successfully evaluated according to the 2015 version of the ISO 9001 standard. The same year, the ISO 9001 certification is extended to the analytical chemistry platform for its metabolomic and structural analysis activities. In 2018, the PFCA receives the platform label from the GIS IBiSA (Infrastructures in Biology, Health and Agronomy).

Contact

Christelle COURTIN
Quality Manager

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