b' ACCREDITATION ISTA Auditors Meeting: Achievements of the Accreditationand Technical DepartmentDr Florina Palada1 and the Auditor Team1Head of ISTA Accreditation and Technical DepartmentDURING THE 2025 ISTA ANNUALsystem audits from 2025. Many thanks to Ritaauditor will soon take the examination. We MEETING ORGANISED INtoo for her system and technical competence andexpect at least two new colleagues to be approved CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND, thethe support given over the years in performingthis year. A few more applications have been ISTA auditors met on 7 May. The Head of thetechnical audits. received, and the theoretical training will start in Accreditation and Technical Department andFe the lat k after au f this ye 4r. The evolution of ISTA edbac ter part o dit, 202 a (%)19 system and technical auditors participated inOne more fellow technical auditor, Lea Mazorauditors is detailed in Fig. 1. 94.20%100.00%the auditor meeting, along with two auditors-in- (Israel), has decided to say goodbye to the auditor 90.00%80.00%training. The Chair of the Accreditation Workingteam and she stopped performing audits forWith the aforementioned approved colleagues, Excelent55.80% 70.00%Group (AWG) of the ISTA Executive CommitteeISTA in June 2025. Our thanks to Lea too, forthe regional distribution of contracted ISTA Very good38.40% 60.00% 55.80%(ECOM), Sylvie Ducournau, was also invited toperforming technical audits for about 11 years.auditors has improved. We now also have Satisfactory5.80% 50.00% 38.40%the meeting. Lea was always ready to support us for any othermore auditors competent for the evaluation 40.00%Excellent and Very good need such as providing training for colleagues inof laboratories with variety and genetically 94.20% 30.00%The meeting was organised in a hybrid format,seed health. 20.00% modified organism (GMO) testing in their 10.00% 5.80%both online and with physical participation. The0.00% accreditation scope.following aspects were discussed during theIn 2024, a technical auditor with samplingExcelent Very good Satisfactory Excellent andVery goodmeeting: competence joined the team. At the beginningAt the end of 2024, the number of accredited ISTA Accreditation and Technical Departmentof 2025, two new technical auditors werelaboratories was 163 and a total of 62 laboratoriesSecretariat team approved. I am happy to congratulate Lucelewere audited (Fig. 2). Seven laboratories and Audits: overview of 2024 and estimation forPretorius (South Africa) and Vladka Gregorovone sampling entity had their first audit, and 2025 (Czech Republic) as technical auditors and54 laboratories and one sampling entity were Evolution of contracted auditors Eddie Goldschagg (South Africa) as a technicalevaluated for being re-accredited. At the request Feedback after audits auditor with sampling competence only. Brankaof the Head of the Accreditation and Technical Update on changes in non-conformities policyOpra, based at the ISTA Secretariat, is now alsoDepartment, the ECOMAWG approved the2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 20252016 2017 2018 2019Auditors at ISTA Secretariat 2 3 3 3 2 3 3 3 3 3and ISTA crop groups approved as a technical auditor with samplingperformance of three completely remote Contracted SA & TA 3 3 3 2 3 3 2 2 2 1Revision of ISTA Accreditation Standard (v8.0)competence. audits. For 2025, we estimated a number of 58 Contracted SA 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 5 6and Directive Acc-D-06B for AccreditationContracted TA assessments in total, i 14 15 15 14 14 14 12 11 1111 ncluding two audits for of Laboratories and Sampling Entities withThere are still five auditGMO,i VariraiExpert extension of the scope for sampling, at least one1 1 1 2 3 3ors- n-tetyning, at1Sampling Units at Multiple Sites different steps of the proc , ess; one candidate as are-audit and five accreditation audits. 1 1 1 1 1SHVariety ExpertsGMO Expert1 1 1Challenges and achievements contracted technical auditor and one as a system Future objectives SamplingTA 2Accreditation and TechnicalAuditors evolution, 2016-2025Department Staff 16 15 15Over the last year at the ISTA Secretariat there14 14 14 1414have been five people in the department: Florina,12Branka, Stella, Neelam and Beata. Neelam12 11 11 11returned to work in July 2024 following maternity10leave. 86The number of technical contracted auditors was6 5 54 4slightly reduced in 2024 (11) as one colleague4 3 33 33 3 3 33 33 3 3 3 3 3 3has decided to stop performing audits for ISTA.2 2 1 2 2 2 1 2 1 11 2 11 2 2 11 2 11 1 11 2We fellow auditors would like to express our recognition to Valerie Cockerell (UK) for the02016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025support she has given to the Accreditation and Technical Department by performing ISTAAuditors at ISTA Secretariat Contracted SA & TA Contracted SA Contracted TAaudits and also contributing to case studies andGMO, VarietyExpert SH, Variety Experts GMO Expert SamplingTAany necessary issues such as seed health. Rita Zecchinelli (Italy) has decided to only performFigure 1. Evolution of ISTA auditors from 2016 to June 2025SEED TESTING INTERNATIONAL OCTOBER 2025 65year Accredited laboratoriesaudits /year 2015 137 46 Accredited laboratories and audits 2016 134 52 2016-20242017 137 46 180 1632018 138 48 160 142 146 149 151 1512019 142 51 140 134 137 1382020 146 26 1202021 149 71 1002022 151 58 80 71 622023 151 46 60 52 46 48 51 58 462024 163 62 40 262002016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024Accredited laboratories audits /year'