Concerning: FDA’s Use of Private Laboratories

Whereas, FDA is using and plans to use private laboratories for a variety of analytical purposes including regulatory purposes, and

Whereas, AFDO believes the use of non-governmental private laboratories for governmental regulatory work may have an adverse effect on public trust and consumer confidence including the possibility for conflicts of interests, and

Whereas, the absence of standardization or certification of non-governmental private laboratories could result in legal questions concerning government regulatory actions and product recalls on U.S. food companies, and

Whereas, AFDO fully supports the use of appropriately standardized Food Emergency Response Network (FERN) laboratories and other state laboratories that have achieved ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation for purposes of increasing capacity, and

Whereas, state laboratories play a critical role in food protection as envisioned in a nationally integrated food safety system, and

Resolved, that AFDO requests FDA to explore appropriate authority to establish basic criteria for domestic third party laboratories so that appropriate standards are established as they are with state food laboratories, and Be it further resolved, that AFDO recommends that FDA first utilize state FERN laboratories or other state laboratories that have achieved ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation for any domestic regulatory food testing when needed.

Whereas, the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) only authorizes establishment of third party certification for foreign third party laboratories and programs, therefore be it