Home.Scientific Services Division.Quality and Safety Program

Laboratory - Scientific Services Division

Quality and Safety Program

The Scientific Services Division (SSD) has an active and aggressive program in the area of quality and safety. The Beverage Alcohol Laboratory and the Compliance Laboratory are both ISO 17025 accredited. This quality management system is also followed by the Nonbeverage Products Laboratory and the Tobacco Laboratory, as the goal is to accredit all four SSD laboratory branches. Currently the scope of the accreditation is narrow, but plans are in progress to expand.

As part of the Department of the Treasury's food safety initiative, SSD participates as a member of the Food Emergency Response Network (FERN), an organization that integrates the nation's laboratory infrastructure for detection of the threat agents in food at the local, State, and Federal level. FERN is currently run by an executive board, with members from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, State public health laboratories, and State agricultural laboratories.