Maintaining and Enhancing Accreditation At The Florida Bureau of Food Laboratorie

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (DACS), Division of Food Safety,Bureau of Food Laboratories achieved accreditation in 2007, and maintains A2LA accreditationto ISO/IEC 17025:2005 for the specific tests listed in A2LA certificates 2534.01 and 2534.02.The Division of Food Safety is responsible for assuring the public of a safe, wholesome andproperly represented food supply through permitting and inspection of food establishments,inspection of food products, and performance of specialized laboratory analyses on a variety offood products sold or produced in the State. The Division monitors food from farm gate throughprocessing and distribution to the retail point of purchase.The Division is charged with administration and enforcement of the food and poultry and egglaws, and also provides support in the enforcement of other food safety laws. In addition toregulatory surveillance and enforcement, the Division evaluates consumer complaints related tofood. The Division has the responsibility for carrying out its duties or support functions asdirected by the following Florida Statutes Chapters: 500, 501, 502, 503, 531, 583, 586, and 601.As the primary regulatory food testing laboratory for Florida in support of the Division of FoodSafety, and working for and with our Department's Bureau of Food and Meat Inspection,microbiological and chemical food analyses performed on behalf of the state's manufacturedfood regulatory programs is conducted within the scope of our accreditation. The DACS Bureauof Food Laboratories is applying for the cooperative agreement titled: ISO/IEC 17025:2005Accreditation for State Food Testing Laboratories (U18), announcement number RFA-FD-12-008, with anticipation of funding 2012 through 2017 for maintaining accreditation and performingenhancements, including expanding the scope of accreditation.The DACS Bureau of Food Laboratories is willing and able to participate in this opportunity, andis fully committed, to increase the analytical capacity of our nation's food testing regulatorylaboratory under accreditation, increase our ability to share laboratory results to promote earlieridentification and regulatory response to adulterants in the food supply, advancement of anationally integrated food safety system, and thereby enhance efforts to protect the food supplyand work toward ensuring the public's health.