LGC gains UKAS accreditation for the production of reference materials

12th September 2006

LGC has become one of only five organisations in the UK to be accredited to ISO Guide 34 and ISO/IEC 17025

LGC’s new UKAS ISO Guide 34 accreditation covers the entire process of reference material production, including homogeneity and stability testing as well as production planning, which are not covered by ISO/IEC 17025.

The accreditation applies to materials produced at LGC’s Teddington site under the management of the ‘Reference Material Production Team’ and provides users of LGC’s certified reference materials with additional confidence in their quality. Products covered in the accreditation include environment, food, forensic, industrial, clinical and herbal materials.

During an official launch ceremony held at the Science Museum, London, on 17 July 2006, the accreditation certificate was presented to LGC by UKAS Chairman, Lord Jamie Lindsay.

Upon receiving the certificate, LGC’s Dr Steve Wood (Head of Reference Materials & Calibration), said: “This accreditation as a reference material producer complements LGC’s already impressive range of measurement-based accreditations including the provision of proficiency testing schemes and the extensive scope of activities as a testing and calibration laboratory. It is great recognition of several months’ hard work by staff in the reference materials, organic and inorganic teams.”

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LGC operates internationally through four divisions - LGC Forensics, LGC Genomics, LGC Standards and LGC Science & Technology. The latter includes specialist laboratories delivering contracts for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and supports LGC's designated role as the UK's National Measurement Institute for chemical and bioanalytical measurement.

Our operations are extensively accredited to international quality standards such as ISO 17025. With headquarters in Teddington, South West London, the LGC Group employs ca 1,400 staff in 29 laboratories and centres globally. Privatised in 1996 and now majority-owned by funds managed by Bridgepoint, LGC was founded almost 170 years ago as the Laboratory of the Government Chemist - a statutory function maintained by LGC today.

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