Instituto Biológico guarantees the quality of its phytosanitary diagnostics

The word “quality” currently has been used in different contexts but is commonly associated with a product. The goal is customer satisfaction with the quality of the product or service. What must be remembered is that a quality product is associated with the quality of all the steps involved in its production process, in accordance with the preestablished requirements for the product production process or service execution.

There are different standards to help the process, making it more efficient and traceable. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is a “worldwide federation of national standards bodies” with one member in each country (ISO, 1996, p. 278). In Brazil, ISO is represented by the Associação Brasileira de Normas Técnicas (ABNT). Among the international standards, there is ISO/IEC 17025, which regulates the management of laboratories, such as microbiological analyses, allowing “them to demonstrate [that] they operate competently, and are able to generate valid results” thus promoting trust in their work both nationally and around the world” (ISO, 2017, p. vi).

In the case of laboratories that carry out analyses for the diagnosis of diseases and pests, in the areas of plant and animal health, and that wish to participate in the Brazilian National Network of Agricultural Laboratories of the Unified Agricultural Health Care System, under the coordination of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply (MAPA), it is a mandatory requirement, among others, to have the tests accredited in ABNT-NBR ISO/IEC 17025 – General Requirements for the Competence of Testing and Calibration Laboratories, with certification issued by the General Accreditation Coordination of the National Institute of Metrology, Standardization and Industrial Quality – CGCRE/Inmetro (BRAZIL, 2013). Only after accreditation at CGCRE/Inmetro is it possible to request accreditation of tests at MAPA.

Since February 22, 2016, under the accreditation number CGCRE/Inmetro CRL 0957, the Laboratory of Phytopathological Diagnosis of the Center for Research and Development in Plant Health of the Instituto Biológico, is part of the Brazilian Network of Test Laboratories – RBLE (INMETRO, 2021a). Currently, to carry out analyses on plants in order to meet the requirements for export and import, this laboratory provides tests for the detection and identification of pests, 36 for mites, 266 for insects, 80 for weeds and parasitic plants, 118 for fungi and oomycetes, 18 for nematodes, 9 for bacteria, 2 for viroids, and 26 for viruses (INMETRO, 2021b). Added to these are 26 tests for detecting and identifying ticks, viruses and bacteria of veterinary interest, resulting in a remarkable institutional contribution to the country’s strategic health defense actions.

Thus, in 2022, when the Instituto Biológico celebrates its 95th anniversary, it ratifies its role in society and agribusiness, offering specialized technical services with the achievement of accreditation for 555 tests in MAPA and the six years of accreditation in CGCre/INMETRO of the Phytopathological Diagnosis Laboratory.

• Peer Review History: Invited paper, not peer reviewed.

REFERENCES

• BRAZIL. Ministério da Agricultura, Pecuária e Abastecimento (MAPA). Instrução Normativa n° 57 Critérios e Requisitos para o Credenciamento e Monitoramento de Laboratórios – Nova Redação. Brasília: MAPA, 11 Dec. 2013. Available from: https://www.gov.br/agricultura/pt-br/assuntos/lfda/arquivos-credenciamento/instrucao-normativa-no-57-de-11-12-2013-criterios-e-requisitos-para-o-credenciamento-e-monitoramento-de-laboratorios-nova-redacao-nr.pdf/view Acessed on: 4 Nov. 2022.
  » https://www.gov.br/agricultura/pt-br/assuntos/lfda/arquivos-credenciamento/instrucao-normativa-no-57-de-11-12-2013-criterios-e-requisitos-para-o-credenciamento-e-monitoramento-de-laboratorios-nova-redacao-nr.pdf/view
• INMETRO – Instituto Nacional de Metrologia, Normalização e Qualidade Industrial. Rede Brasileira de Laboratórios de Ensaio RBLE - Detalhe do Laboratório. 2021a. Available from: http://www.inmetro.gov.br/laboratorios/rble/detalhe_laboratorio.asp?nom_apelido=INST+BIO%2FSP%2FCPDSA Acessed on: 04 Nov. 2022.
  » http://www.inmetro.gov.br/laboratorios/rble/detalhe_laboratorio.asp?nom_apelido=INST+BIO%2FSP%2FCPDSA
• INMETRO – Instituto Nacional de Metrologia, Normalização e Qualidade Industrial. Escopo da acreditação – ABNT NBR ISSO/IEC 17025 – Ensaio. 2021b. Available from: http://www.inmetro.gov.br/laboratorios/rble/docs/CRL0957.pdf Acessed on: 4 Nov. 2022.
  » http://www.inmetro.gov.br/laboratorios/rble/docs/CRL0957.pdf
• ISO – International Organization for Standardization. ISO/IEC 17025:2017: General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories. Geneva: ISO, 2017.
• ISO – International Organization for Standardization. Accreditation and Quality Assurance, Basel, v.1, n.6, p.278, 1996. https://doi.org/10.1007/PL00010408
  » https://doi.org/10.1007/PL00010408

Edited by

Section Editor: Silvia Galleti

Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  09 Jan 2023
• Date of issue
  2022

History

• Received
  10 Nov 2022
• Accepted
  11 Nov 2022