Quality control of pesticide products. Guidelines for national laboratories
Overview
The aim of this document is to provide a general guidance for the establishment or strengthening of national pesticide quality control activities, irrespective of the use of the product, whether public health or agricultural. Though the end- use of a product may differ, the quality control schemes are very similar, and a laboratory combining products of both areas may prove synergistic and allow a rational use of resources. This document focuses on laboratories involved in the post-registration analysis of pesticide products to ensure that the data generated are of a sufficiently high standard to stand external scrutiny. Reference is also made to laboratories engaged in pre-registration testing of products.
The scope of the guidelines is not restricted to the control of quality in conducting specific analyses, but extends to the full range of management activities related to the operation of the laboratory, including organization, staff, procedures, and the facilities involved.
This is a guidance document with quality assurance requirements for laboratories involved in product testing. In general, accreditation according to ISO/IEC 17025 through a national body seems to respond better to the specific needs of an official quality control laboratory than the quality assurance scheme under Good Laboratory Practice (OECD Series on the Principles of Good Laboratory Practice and Compliance Monitoring), which is mandatory for the elaboration of studies necessary for national registration in countries of the Oganisation of Economic Co-operation and Development. The emphasis of accreditation is on quality management and competency, while offering more flexibility with respect to the analysis of samples arriving at short notice—a situation often seen in official quality control laboratories. The outline of the document and the points covered refer very often to the requirements of the Standard ISO/IEC 17025. In order to maintain a simple wording, the assumption was made that samples are submitted to the control laboratory by a body outside the lab organization. The term “customer” is used in that context.