7 U.S.C. § 138a - National Laboratory Accreditation Program

Cite as7 U.S.C. § 138a

(a) Establishment of Program

The Secretary shall administer a National Laboratory Accreditation Program under which laboratories that request accreditation and conduct residue testing of agricultural products, or that make claims to the public or buyers of agricultural products concerning chemical residue levels on agricultural products, shall be determined to meet certain minimum quality and reliability standards.

(b) Standards

The Secretary of Health and Human Services, after consultation with the Secretary and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, shall establish, through regulations, standards for the National Laboratory Accreditation program 1 that shall include-

(1) standards applicable to laboratories;

(2) qualifications for directors and other personnel; and

(3) standards and procedures for quality assurance programs.

(c) Accrediting bodies

The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall approve State agencies or private, nonprofit entities as accrediting bodies to act on behalf of such Secretary in implementing the certification and quality assurance programs in accordance with the requirements of this section. In making such approvals the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall-

(1) oversee and review the performance of any accrediting body acting on behalf of the Secretary to ensure that such accrediting body is in compliance with the requirements of the certification program under this section; and

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT