b'Centenary Annual Meeting, so long as that decision is approved by the Ordinary General Meeting. Countries wishing only to receive eCertificates should notify the importers of this in advance.Proficiency TestingOnly ISTA member laboratories may become accredited. Prior to accreditation, applicants must demonstrate their ability to carry out seed testing in accordance with the ISTA Rules through participation in the Proficiency Test Programme (PT). There are three PT rounds per year covering at least four crop groups and different tests.Figure 2: Comparison of ratings of ISTA Proficiency Tests in 2023 by ISTA accredited (left) As Figure 2 shows, ISTA accredited labora- and non-accredited laboratories (right)A Rating (1), B-Rating (2), C-Rating (3) and Below tories in most cases perform better than non- Minimum Performance (4).accredited laboratories in ISTA proficiency testing. This demonstrates that the ISTA accreditation system is effectively and consist-ently assuring uniformity and quality in seedNumber of ISTA Accredited Laboratoriestesting globally. All ISTA Member Laboratories are eligible to participate in all test rounds of the ISTA Proficiency Test Programme. Testing is mandatory for ISTA Accredited Member Laboratories and voluntary for non-accredited laboratories who want to bench-mark themselves with accredited laboratories and prepare themselves for accreditation. Three times a year, seed samples are dispatched to laboratories participating in the ISTA Proficiency Test Programme, the goal of which is to identify that all laboratories meet the minimum standard of performance that is reasonable to be expected from an ISTA Accredited Laboratory.Figure 3: The number of ISTA Accredited Laboratories has grown by about 50% over the ISTA member candidates for accreditationpast 23 years, or about 2% per year. are required to establish a quality assurance system which complies with ISTAs require-ments. Criteria for becoming accredited are formulated in the ISTA Accreditation Standard. Part of the accreditation is theOnce the laboratory is accredited, it is authorised to issue ISTA Certificates on-site assessment. An experienced auditfor methods and species covered by its scope of accreditation. team verifies the laboratorys compliance withThe growth rate of ISTA accredited laboratories is about 2% annually relevant criteria. Accredited laboratories areover the last 23 years (See Figure 3). This is a little less than the growth rate re-audited in regular intervals to determine iffor the number of ISTA Certificates issued, which is about 2.5 % annually. they continuously abide by the ISTA accredita- Nonetheless, the number is increasing especially in the last two years after tion requirements.Covid-19.30 SEEDWORLD.COM/CANADA SEPTEMBER 2024'