Nutraceutical manufacturer NOW has expanded the ISO 17025 accreditation of its in-house laboratories.
Through an assessment with the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA), the quality management system and competence of laboratory staff were confirmed.
The accreditation certificates cover both chemical and biological methods, meaning that NOW has attained accreditation for eight of its analytical chemistry methods.
One of these includes a screening method that identifies the presence of more than 400 pesticides in botanical raw materials.
The company has also developed an arsenic speciation method, which is a capability that many labs do not possess.
Currently, NOW's labs have 14 accredited chemistry methods, including quantitative allergen testing methods and the ascorbic acid (vitamin C) method.
Meanwhile the company's microbiology lab has expanded its ISO scope from 6 to 12 methods this year — including the addition of the Sparks, Nevada lab.
NOW's microbiology labs are now accredited to use PCR technologies for pathogenic detection, which helps NOW ensure the safety of its raw ingredients.
“Accomplishing this was a team effort from top to bottom," noted NOW's Senior Quality Manager, Jonathan DeCenzi.
"From the scientists developing and validating the methods to the chemists and microbiologists who run these methods 31,000 times a month and the upper management team that provides the resources and best-in-class instrumentation, we couldn't have achieved this without working together."
"This is a tremendous accomplishment by the quality team and another benchmark NOW can use to support our claim of being one of the clear leaders in natural product quality and value."
The accreditation certificates (6253.01 Chemical and 6253.02 Biological) can be viewed on NOW's website.