“Prince Edward Island Analytical Laboratories provides testing services for the public, farmers, corporations, researchers, and many others. It is a tremendous resource for our province that is invaluable in our daily lives as it assures the safety of our drinking water, dairy products, food and much more,” said Minister Sherry. “The laboratory is held to the highest international standards and continues to achieve this top accreditation on a bi-annual basis.”

As part of accreditation, technical assessments are conducted by teams of experts every two years to evaluate the lab’s quality system and technical capability for each test. In addition, the lab must successfully complete testing of proficiency test samples supplied by both national and international bodies. Test results from all participating labs are evaluated and compared and each test result is graded for accuracy.

PEIAL has also received notification of its successful participation in a Proficiency Testing study offered jointly by the Asia Pacific Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (APLAC) and Inter American Accreditation Cooperation (IAAC) organizations. The Standards Council of Canada coordinated participation of Canadian laboratories in this study which included 77 labs from 20 countries around the world.

PEIAL is operated jointly by the Department of Agriculture and Forestry and the Department of Environment, Labour and Justice. It provides testing services for the public, farmers, municipalities, tourism operators, the processing industry, extension specialists, corporations, other government departments and research scientists.

“The agriculture industry looks to the lab to provide accurate and timely analysis of a complete range of agriculture samples which is an important component of its overall farm safety practices,” said Minister of Agriculture and Forestry George Webster. “Accreditation is a means for Islanders to identify and select reliable testing services for their needs and is further recognition of the high quality services our provincial lab provides.”