Points to consider when establishing an equipment calibration programme in a conventional food microbiology laboratory for ISO/IEC 17025:2017 accreditation purpose

Abstract

For a laboratory following the ISO/IEC 17025:2017 standard, establishing a calibration programme is a requirement as per Clause 6.4.7. Clause 6.4.6. of the ISO/IEC 17025:2017 standard states that measuring equipment shall be calibrated when its measurement accuracy or measurement uncertainty affects the validity of the test results and/or when establishment of the metrological traceability of the test results is required. Equipment commonly used in a conventional food microbiology laboratory include biosafety cabinets or laminar flow cabinets, balances, diluters, homogenizers or blenders or mixers, pH meters, autoclaves, incubators, refrigerators, freezers, deep freezers, thermostatically controlled water baths, sterilizing ovens, temperature-monitoring devices such as thermometers, micropipettes, dispensers, vortex mixers, centrifuges, hot plates, and stop watches. The standard ISO 7218:2007/Amd 1:2013 provides guidance on which equipment requires calibration but sometimes, the accreditation body establishes more stringent guidelines which the conformity assessment body needs to follow. So, equipment that requires calibration may differ between conventional food microbiology laboratories accredited by different accreditation bodies. In this practitioner’s report, the author discusses the points a conventional food microbiology laboratory needs to consider when establishing a calibration programme.