+353 (1) 685 6929 There are different ISO accreditations but for those seeking the services of a DNA testing company, for example, anyone wishing to do a paternity DNA test, then they must look out for the ISO 17025. This is an accreditation specifically for laboratories and spells out that the chosen company’s partner labs are fully competent in what they do. ISO accredited laboratories are subject to control checks by an external entity and should they not consistently comply with the parameters stipulated by ISO, then the accreditation is taken away and the laboratory loses the credibility it gains by have ISO accreditation.
The term accreditation translates to fidelity and reliability for any company and for anyone seeking services with that company. The soundest accreditation that is internationally recognised is the International Organisation for Standardisation, more commonly referred to as ISO. There are many common criteria between ISO 9000 and ISO 17025 but ISO 17025 is more targeted at laboratories; the former ISO accreditation is a quality management system but ISO 17025 laboratories must also meet the criteria of ISO 9000. ISO 17025 has a few additional parameters including:
- Proficiency testing
- Technical competence of staff employed at the facility
- Use validated and current testing methodology
The above 3 criteria do not form part at all of the ISO 9000 quality management accreditation.
To request this accreditation, the laboratory in question has to carry out a fixed number of tests per year. This is because ISO requires a track record from which they can determine whether or not to award their accreditation. Small laboratories might have a hard time to get such an accreditation as ISO cannot really determine competence and other criteria from just a handful of tests.
More insight into accreditation can be found on Accredited DNA testing Laboratory.
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