Final Report Of An Audit Conducted In The United States February 5th, through February 22nd, 2013 Evaluating The Food Safety Systems Governing The Production Of Meat And Poultry Products Intended For Export To Canada
9. Laboratory Controls

CFIA auditor reviewed laboratory controls. The inspection system must have a laboratory control program, organized and administered by the national government, which includes random sampling of internal organs and fat of carcasses for residues identified by the exporting country's meat and poultry inspection authority or by CFIA as contaminants.

The laboratory audit was conducted using the same techniques (more specifically review of documents, review of records and observation of implementation) are commonly used for auditing accredited Canadian laboratories. The auditing activity began with the document review prior to the on-site visit, to ensure all the ISO 17025 requirements are documented within the laboratory's quality system manual. This review was then followed by on-site review of records that included but was not limited to management reviews, non-conformance reports, internal & external audit reports, employee training, equipment usage and maintenance, and traceable analytical testing information. Evidence of implementation of the quality system was obtained by direct observation (seeing requirement is met) and conducting interviews (knowing requirements).

The Eastern Laboratory's management and staff were very knowledgeable of their quality system and the assessment visit was conducted in a very open and cooperative environment. Based on the evidence obtained from the document review and the on-site visit, it was concluded that the Eastern Laboratory's testing system can be considered equivalent to a Canadian Laboratory's testing system.

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