In 1999
the
International Seed Testing
Association (ISTA)
initiated
an experiment on the accreditation and authorisation of
company seed testing laboratories, which expired at the end
of June 2004.
Prior to and during the 27th
ISTA Congress in Budapest, Hungary, the final
results of the experiment were presented to the ISTA
membership and the ISTA member governments.
From the data gained from the ISTA Proficiency Tests, the
ISTA Audit Programme and monitoring data from some member
countries, it could be concluded that in regards to the
performance, there is no difference between company and
non-company laboratories.
Therefore the ISTA member countries followed the
recommendation of the ISTA Executive Committee and decided
to finalise the Experiment on the Accreditation and
Authorisation of Company Seed Testing Laboratories
successfully and establish it as a permanent regime.
Consequently, company seed testing laboratories can become
ISTA members, and from today on become accredited and
authorised to issue ISTA Certificates.
Following the change in the ISTA Constitution Article VII
(c) (15), an approval to issue ISTA Certificates from the
national Designated Authority is no longer required.
See
Press Release number 01/2004:
ISTA initiates proficiency tests on GMO testing in conventional seed
