September 19, 2019, Frederick, MD – PRESS RELEASE – A2LA has announced the creation of a sampling field of accreditation. Laboratories currently accredited to ISO/IEC 17025 for testing will be able to establish an additional scope of accreditation in the sampling field. In addition, A2LA will be able to accredit stand-alone sampling organizations (SASOs) to ISO/IEC 17025:2017. A2LA is the first Accreditation Body in the United States to offer accreditation to ISO/IEC 17025:2017 for SASOs, as well as the option for laboratories to get accredited in the sampling field of accreditation in addition to their respective field(s) of testing.
In addition to other changes made in the 2017 version of ISO/IEC 17025, the definition of a laboratory was expanded to cover organizations that sample for subsequent testing. Accreditation Bodies throughout the world have been looking into accreditation of SASOs, and A2LA decided to put together this program in order to fill several needs in the various industries that they work in.
“A2LA has been contemplating a standalone sampling program for a number of years and we felt the time was right to put this together to aid those markets in need of standalone sampling.” said Trace McInturff, A2LA Vice President, Accreditation Services.
