18 SEED TESTING INTERNATIONAL www.seedtest.org ASSOCIATION NEWS the planned joint activities with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, which funded the event. As the Head of the Department, I represented ISTA at several international events, promoting the Association and the accreditation programme. These included the Brazilian Seed Technology Association (ABRATES), Asia and Pacific Seed Association (APSA), African Seed Trade Association (AFSTA), Verband Deutscher Landwirtschaftlicher Untersuchungs und Forschungsanstalten (VDLUFA) and Maize Research Institute Zemun Polje. At the ISTA Annual Meetings and Congresses the members were provided with a report of Department activity. The given presentations always captured the attention and curiosity of the attendees and were followed by a session of questions and answers that involved the participants in interesting, professional discussions. The main challenges of this period were due to the COVID-19 pandemic: • We had to develop a procedure and policy on how to perform remote audits, with the support of the ECOM and the ECOM–AWG. • Five accounts were used on the GoToMeeting platform (sometimes in parallel). • In 2020 most of the audits were performed completely remotely and a few partly remotely; some audits were postponed for the next year with the approval of the ECOM. • The year 2021 was also challenging as 71 audits were performed. • One of the most important challenges of 2023, and continuing into 2024 and 2025, was the change in policy regarding the due dates to address non-conformities identified during ISTA audits. With support and guidance from the ISTA ECOM and the ECOM–AWG some of the important documents regulating the accreditation process were revised as a continuous improvement objective, such as: • Acc-D-06A – Accreditation of laboratories at multiple sites. • Acc-D-06B – Accreditation of laboratories with sampling units at multiple sites, implemented in 2023 and revised in 2025. • In 2023 the Proficiency Test (PT) coordinator, in collaboration with the GMO Committee and after discussion with the ISTA Accreditation and Technical Department, developed a List of Standardised Terms in GMO Testing. • The ISTA crop groups were revised to add Ricinus in the ‘other agricultural’ crop group (change valid from January 2024). Another revision that was valid from January 2025 was that two species, Grevillea and Leucaena, are now also in crop group 7 (trees and shrubs). • The Accreditation Standard underwent three revisions, the last being valid from January 2026; 134 137 138 142 146 149 151 150 163 161 52 46 48 51 26 71 58 46 62 58 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 Accredited laboratories audits /year Expon. (Accredited laboratories) Expon. (audits /year ) First webinar, ‘How to address non-conformities identified at ISTA audits’, organised in October 2023 Accreditation and Technical Department Report at the ISTA Congress 2025 in Christchurch, New Zealand Overall numbers of accredited members and audits 2016–2025 QMS evaluation during the audit at the laboratory PK01 in 2025
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