The Microbiological Laboratory of the Biomedical Research Section (BMR), Atomic Research Division (ARD), Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI), was awarded with a Certificate of ISO 17025:2005 accreditation on July 08, 2012. The certificate was presented by Mr. Jaime Lasaro L. Olmos, Officer-in-Charge of the Philippine Accreditation Office (PAO), during ceremonies held recently at the PNRI.
This achievement was made possible with assistance from the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Grants-in-Aid Project, “Establishment, Implementation and Maintenance of Management Systems in all DOST Research and Development Institutes and Regional Offices”. The BMR Laboratory`s accreditation is valid until July 2017, subject to continuing conformity with the ISO technical requirements and PAO conditions for accreditation. The scope covered by the accreditation is “Aerobic Plate Count” in foods and beverages. These include meat and poultry products, cereal and cereal/legume-based products, fruits, vegetables and nuts. The PAO Approved Signatories for microbiological testing are Ms. Zenaida M. De Guzman, Laboratory Manager; Mr. Chitho P. Feliciano, Technical Manager; and Ms. Levelyn Mitos M. Tolentino, Document Custodian.
The BMR is the second PNRI laboratory to gain ISO 17025 accreditation, the first being the Analytical Measurements Research Laboratory, ARD, on July 28, 2009.. The management system developed is applicable to other PNRI testing and calibration laboratories (PNRI LAB) which are also working to gain accreditation. This implies that these laboratories have common PNRI LAB Quality and Procedures Manuals, while maintaining a Procedures Manual specific to each laboratory. It is expected that the accreditation will be expanded to include the following additional scopes: Gafchromic Dosimetry System for the Multipurpose Irradiation Facility; X-Ray Diffraction Spectrometry for the Applied Physics Research Laboratory, Calibration and Personnel Monitoring Services for the Radiation Protection Section, and X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometry for the Analytical Measurements Research Section.
