7 U.S.C. § 138a : US Code - Section 138A: National Laboratory Accreditation Program

Search 7 U.S.C. § 138a : US Code - Section 138A: National Laboratory Accreditation Program

(a) Establishment of Program
The Secretary shall administer a National Laboratory
Accreditation Program under which laboratories that request
accreditation and conduct residue testing of agricultural products,
or that make claims to the public or buyers of agricultural
products concerning chemical residue levels on agricultural
products, shall be determined to meet certain minimum quality and
reliability standards.
(b) Standards
The Secretary of Health and Human Services, after consultation
with the Secretary and the Administrator of the Environmental
Protection Agency, shall establish, through regulations, standards
for the National Laboratory Accreditation program (!1) that shall
include - 
(1) standards applicable to laboratories;
(2) qualifications for directors and other personnel; and
(3) standards and procedures for quality assurance programs.
(c) Accrediting bodies
The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall approve State
agencies or private, nonprofit entities as accrediting bodies to
act on behalf of such Secretary in implementing the certification
and quality assurance programs in accordance with the requirements
of this section. In making such approvals the Secretary of Health
and Human Services shall - 
(1) oversee and review the performance of any accrediting body
acting on behalf of the Secretary to ensure that such accrediting
body is in compliance with the requirements of the certification
program under this section; and
(2) have the right to obtain from an accrediting body acting on
behalf of the Secretary and from any laboratory that may be
certified by such a body all records and materials that may be
necessary for the oversight and review required by paragraph (1).
(d) Requirements
To be accredited under this chapter, a laboratory shall - 
(1) prepare and submit an application for accreditation to the
Secretary; and
(2) comply with such terms and conditions as are determined
necessary by the Secretary and the Secretary of Health and Human
Services.
(e) Exceptions
This chapter shall not apply to - 
(1) a laboratory operated by a government agency;
(2) a laboratory operated by a corporation that only performs
analysis of residues on agricultural products for such
corporation or any wholly owned subsidiary of such corporation
and does not make claims to the public or buyers based on such
analysis;
(3) a laboratory operated by a partnership that only performs
analysis of residues on agricultural products for the partners of
such partnership and does not make claims to the public or buyers
based on such analysis; or
(4) a laboratory not operated for commercial purposes that
performs pesticide chemical residue analysis on agricultural
products for research or quality control for the internal use of
a person who is initiating the analysis.