FDA LAAF Program

Perry Johnson Laboratory Accreditation, Inc. (PJLA) offers FDA Laboratory Accreditation for Analyses of Food (LAAF) program. This is a supplemental program to ISO/IEC 17025:2017 which was established by the FDA for the testing of food in certain circumstances.

The establishment of the LAAF program is intended to improve the accuracy and reliability of certain food testing through uniformity of standards and enhanced FDA oversight of participating laboratories. In certain circumstances, owners and consignees will be required to use a LAAF accredited laboratory for the following:

• to support removal of a food from an import alert through successful consecutive testing;
• to support admission of an imported food detained at the border because it is or appears to be in violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act;
• required by existing FDA food safety regulations, when applied to address an identified or suspected food safety problem (i.e., certain tests of shell eggs, sprouts, and bottled drinking water);
• required by a directed food laboratory order, a new procedure being implemented in this final rule that will allow the FDA to require use of a LAAF-accredited laboratory to address an identified or suspected food safety problem in certain, rare circumstances; and
• conducted in certain administrative processes such as in connection with an appeal of an administrative detention order food testing to support removal from an import alert, to support admission of an imported food, required by existing FDA food safety regulations (shell eggs, sprouts, and bottled drinking water), required by a directed food laboratory order and conducted in connection with certain administrative processes.

Under the LAAF program, FDA recognizes PJLA to accredit laboratories to the LAAF program established in the final FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) final rule.

Laboratories wishing to participate in the LAAF program can locate the eligibility requirements in the final rule, as well as additional resources, at the FDA.gov website.

Laboratories interested in becoming accredited can contact us at (248) 519-2603 or email us at [email protected].