Month: April 2020

IAF response to COVID-19

As the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues to cause safety concerns and travel restrictions worldwide, IAF is committed to ensuring consistent and appropriate action to confirm that accredited certificates remain valid. A list of frequently asked questions (FAQs) about conformity assessment activities during this period, including the […]

A day in the life of an EA peer evaluator

Amandine Combe Peer evaluation operated by European co-operation for Accreditation (EA) determines whether the National Accreditation Bodies (NABs) meet the requirements laid down in Regulation (EC) No 765/2008, relevant harmonised standards and mandatory EA and international documents. National authorities shall recognise the equivalence of the services delivered by […]

Working together to advance accreditation

Jon Murthy Every year, leaders of accreditation, conformity assessment, scheme owners and other interested parties come together to ensure that accredited conformity assessment continues to be a preferred solution for facilitating trade, understanding current issues and trends, and evolving to meet the needs of government, regulators and businesses […]

Participation in IAF Certsearch continues to grow

Sheronda Jeffries IAF CertSearch has launched. IAF CertSearch is the world’s exclusive global database for accredited management system certifications, providing businesses and governments the ability to digitally validate an organization’s certification(s) to determine if a certificate is valid and if the Certification Body (CB) issuing the certificate is […]

Medical devices gain support from more regulators

Grant Ramaley The medical device trade is not like any other. It impacts individuals ranging from the unborn to those requiring support in older age. Regulating these devices has never been more important, especially for developing countries that are writing their medical device regulations. More regulators, including the […]

Delivering confidence in the education sector

Laura Monserrat Balderas Sánchez Ema, the Mexican Accreditation Body and long-standing IAF Signatory, has extended its accreditation services to enable educational organisations to demonstrate their competence. This service is based on ISO 21001:2018 Educational organizations — Management systems for educational organizations — Requirements with guidance for use. This […]

New European organic food regulation

Amandine Combe The European Union (EU) organic farming rules cover agricultural products, including aquaculture and yeast. They encompass every stage of the production process, from seeds to the final processed food. There are therefore specific provisions covering a large variety of products. Producing organically means respecting the rules […]

Scaling up skills in APAC

Aparna Dhawan Brahim Houla The Asia Pacific Accreditation Cooperation (APAC) has developed an e-learning platform to broaden access to training by allowing delegates to learn from their desks. To date, 700 trainees have used this platform to take courses for ISO/IEC 17011 with IAF MD 20, ISO/IEC 17065 […]

WAD 2020: Accreditation Supporting Food Safety

The theme of World Accreditation Day 2020 will be ‘Accreditation: Delivering Food Safety’. The production of food and water involves complex supply chains. Food safety policies have a critical role in assuring that food stays safe at every stage of the food chain – from production to harvest, […]

New position paper: the need for industry-driven telecom supply chain security standards and programs

Sheronda Jeffries The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA), a 400+ member trade association representing the manufacturers and suppliers of high-tech communications networks, recently released a new position paper outlining the critical need for supply chain security standards throughout global telecom networks. Information Communications Technology (ICT) networks have grown in complexity over […]