ILAC News 38

Accreditation Updatecontinued from previous pagelaboratory services of their own but alsofor third parties. The representative ofNestlé Guatemala presented an over viewof the services that they provide in CentralAmerican and the Caribbean locations andhow the accredited analysis brings trust totheir partners for the food global trade. Onother hand, the FOGEL Group, a companythat produce and export refrigerators andfreezers for commercial purposes focusedtheir presentation on the importance ofaccreditation in order to fulfill technicalregulations for energy efficiency in Mexico,United States, Central America and otherscountries where they export the products andaccreditation is required. A representativefor INTERTEK Guatemala presentedtheir experience in fulfilling technicalrequirements for export to USA. The servicesthat the INTERTEK laboratory offers inGuatemala, and for other clients in LatinAmerica, are analyses of textiles, food andtoys. In particular, the regulation of the CPSC(Consumers Product Safety Commission) todetermine the level of lead in paint in metaland non metal products including jewelryfor children was highlighted. INTERTEKcommented on the acceptance that theaccreditation in Guatemala had for itsrecognition with the USA CPSC.With these conferences OGA confirmed theimportance of laboratory accreditation inglobal trade and for consumer protection anddemonstrated how the ILAC MRA opens thedoor for Global Acceptance.OGA takes this opportunity to congratulateILAC on its 10th Anniversary of the MutualRecognition Arrangement.Polish Centre for Accreditation (PCA) – co-producer ofaccreditation awareness programme for Polish RadioPromotion of the benefits ofaccreditationThe survey conducted among Polish RadioFirst Programme listeners, a popular“Number One” Programme, revealed that theword ‘accreditation’, for most Polish people,was associated with journalism or diplomacyand only occasionally with conformityassessment, economy and free movement ofproducts and services.The Programme organised an interviewwith the director of the Polish Centre forAccreditation, Dr Eugeniusz W Roguski.This took place on the occasion of WorldAccreditation Day on 9 June 2010. Duringthe interview the listeners, of this oldest andwidest reception range Polish broadcastingstation, had the opportunity to broaden theirunderstanding of the meaning of the word‘accreditation’. They also had the chance tolearn about the activities performed by thePolish Centre for Accreditation that has aninfluence on them. This was probably thefirst time most of them had heard about theinstitution, PCA. Nevertheless, the 15 minuteinterview was not enough to present, in anaccessible way, the whole scope of activitiesundertaken by PCA, as well as the realmeaning of accreditation.A director of the Polish Radio FirstProgramme therefore proposed that the PCAdirector co-produce a cycle of programmeswith the objective to promote accreditation.After acceptance of the initiative by thePCA management, the contract betweenthe Polish Radio First Programme and thePolish Centre for Accreditation was signed.According to the clauses of the contract,there will be a series of 10 educational radioprogrammes transmitted in various bands.In the programmes it is planned to explainthe issues connected with the confirmationof competences of testing and calibrationlaboratories and certification and inspectionbodies participating in the conformityassessment system.After the transmission of the finalprogramme, there will be a survey conductedof the listeners of this radio station, to assessthe appeal and effectiveness of this formDr Roguski on airof social education on accreditation. If thesurvey results in a positive answer to thisquestion, the contract between the PolishRadio First Programme and PCA will beextended.Finally, it is worth mentioning that in 2011,the Polish Centre for Accreditation willcelebrate its 10th anniversary. Moreover, inthe second half of 2011, Poland will assumethe Presidency of the European Union andin November 2011, PCA will host the EAGeneral Assembly.38 Issue 38 | October 2010