On July 12, 2022, FDA announced its recognition of six accreditation bodies under the Laboratory Accreditation for Analyses of Foods (LAAF) program. Accredited bodies under LAAF may, in turn, accredit laboratories to the standards established under the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2011 (FSMA).

By way of background, FSMA directs FDA to establish a program for the setting of food by accredited laboratories.  FDA’s final rule on LAAF became effective on December 1, 2021, and provides eligibility requirements and procedures on how FDA will oversee the LAAF program.  The LAAF program aims to improve the reliability of certain food testing through enhanced FDA oversight of participating laboratories and accreditation bodies. To be eligible for LAAF recognition, an accreditation body must be a full member of the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) and a signatory to the ILAC Mutual Recognition Arrangement with demonstrated competence to ISO/IEC 17011:2017(E) and a scope of “Testing: ISO/IEC 17025.”

As previously reported, on February 11, 2022, FDA announced the launch of the LAAF application portal where interested accreditation bodies may apply for recognition under the LAAF program. A list of the recognized accreditation bodies will be listed in the public registry. Additional information and commonly asked questions on FSMA and the LAAF program may be found here.