FDA's LAAF Application Portal Now Open

SILVER SPRING, Md. — Today, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) opened the application portal for accreditation bodies interested in participating in the Laboratory Accreditation for Analyses of Foods (LAAF) program.   

Under the LAAF program, FDA will recognize accreditation bodies that will accredit food testing laboratories to standards established in the final rule on Laboratory Accreditation for Analyses of Foods (referred to as LAAF-accredited laboratories).

The final rule, issued by FDA on Dec. 3, 2021, established the LAAF program and outlined eligibility requirements that accreditation bodies and laboratories wishing to participate in the program will need to satisfy. The final rule also describes the procedures for how FDA will manage and oversee the program. FDA will maintain an online public registry of recognized accredited bodies and LAAF-accredited laboratories. 

Eligibility requirements for an accreditation body seeking FDA recognition include being a full member of the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperative (ILAC) and a signatory to the ILAC mutual recognition agreement (MRA) with demonstrated competence to ISO/IEC 17011:2017(E) with a scope of “Testing: ISO/IEC 17025:2017.”

Interested accreditation bodies can apply through the portal.

The establishment of the LAAF program will improve FDA’s capacity to protect U.S. consumers from unsafe food by improving the accuracy and reliability of certain food testing through the uniformity of standards and enhanced oversight of participating laboratories.