Title 7, AgricultureRelease 119-110

§138a National Laboratory Accreditation Program

Title 7 › CHAPTER 6A — NATIONAL LABORATORY ACCREDITATION › § 138a

Last updated Sep 23, 2026|Official source

Summary

Creates a National Laboratory Accreditation Program that the Secretary must run. Labs that ask to be accredited and that test agricultural products for chemical residues, or that tell buyers or the public about residue levels, must meet basic quality and reliability rules. The Secretary of Health and Human Services, after talking with the Secretary and the head of the EPA, must write rules for the program. The rules must cover three things: lab practices, who can lead and work in the lab, and quality-check procedures. HHS will approve state agencies or nonprofit groups to act as accreditors, watch their work, and get records from them or certified labs. To be accredited, a lab must apply and follow terms set by the Secretary and HHS. The program does not apply to four kinds of labs: government labs; company labs that only test for their own company and make no public claims; partnership labs that only test for partners and make no public claims; and noncommercial labs that test only for research or internal quality control for the person who ordered the test.

Full Legal Text

Title 7, §138a

Agriculture, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Establishment of Program

The Secretary shall administer a National Laboratory Accreditation Program under which laboratories that request accreditation and conduct residue testing of agricultural products, or that make claims to the public or buyers of agricultural products concerning chemical residue levels on agricultural products, shall be determined to meet certain minimum quality and reliability standards.

(b)Standards

The Secretary of Health and Human Services, after consultation with the Secretary and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, shall establish, through regulations, standards for the National Laboratory Accreditation program that shall include—

(1)standards applicable to laboratories;

(2)qualifications for directors and other personnel; and

(3)standards and procedures for quality assurance programs.

(c)Accrediting bodies

The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall approve State agencies or private, nonprofit entities as accrediting bodies to act on behalf of such Secretary in implementing the certification and quality assurance programs in accordance with the requirements of this section. In making such approvals the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall—

(1)oversee and review the performance of any accrediting body acting on behalf of the Secretary to ensure that such accrediting body is in compliance with the requirements of the certification program under this section; and

(2)have the right to obtain from an accrediting body acting on behalf of the Secretary and from any laboratory that may be certified by such a body all records and materials that may be necessary for the oversight and review required by paragraph (1).

(d)Requirements

To be accredited under this chapter, a laboratory shall—

(1)prepare and submit an application for accreditation to the Secretary; and

(2)comply with such terms and conditions as are determined necessary by the Secretary and the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

(e)Exceptions

This chapter shall not apply to—

(1)a laboratory operated by a government agency;

(2)a laboratory operated by a corporation that only performs analysis of residues on agricultural products for such corporation or any wholly owned subsidiary of such corporation and does not make claims to the public or buyers based on such analysis;

(3)a laboratory operated by a partnership that only performs analysis of residues on agricultural products for the partners of such partnership and does not make claims to the public or buyers based on such analysis; or

(4)a laboratory not operated for commercial purposes that performs pesticide chemical residue analysis on agricultural products for research or quality control for the internal use of a person who is initiating the analysis.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

7 U.S.C. § 138a

Title 7, Agriculture

Last Updated

Sep 23, 2026

Release point: 119-110