ISO/IEC 17025:2005 Accreditation for State Food Testing Laboratories

Incorporating the five-year project goals the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) laboratory will achieve ISO/IEC17025:2005 accreditation of key microbiological and chemical methods of analysis in support of Standard 10 of the Manufactured Food Regulatory Program Standards (MFRPs). Accreditation will evolve over the five-year grant period through additional staffing, staff training, process improvement, consulting, FDA ORS assessments, external and internal auditing and active participation in FERN. Accreditation will be achieved through consistent completion of deliverables as define in the cooperative agreement. In conjunction with our existing FERN microbiological and chemical food surveillance activities an effective sampling plan will be developed in partnership with our State Manufactured Food Regulatory Program conducted by the CDPHE Division of Environmental Health and Sustainability. The routine reporting of State analytical results via eLEXNET will allow the FDA to identify potential food contamination issues more rapidly on a regional and national level. The utilization of CDPHE food analysis data will additionally expand the analytical capabilities of the FDA and help to advance a nationally integrated food safety system and assist CDPHE in conforming to Standard Ten of the Manufactured Food Regulatory Program Standards.