[Activity of the Codex Alimentarius Commission FAO/WHO on quality assurance in the laboratory]

The activity of the Codex Alimentarius Commission FAO/WHO concerning the quality assurance in laboratory was discussed. Major documents issued by the joint efforts of the international organizations (IUPAC, ISO, AOAC Int.) and Codex Alimentarius FAO/WHO Committee on Methods of Analysis and Sampling (CCMAS) are also presented in the article. The basic task of the CCMAS is reviewing and harmonization of the international documents in order to make them available for food analytical laboratories and to recommend the internationally recognised approaches for: collaborative studies--Protocol for Design, Conduct and Interpretation of Method-performance Studies. Pure & Appl. Chem. 1995, vol. 67, 332-343 proficiency testing--The International Harmonized Protocol for the Proficiency Testing (Chemical) Analytical Laboratories. Pure & Appl. Chem. 1993, Vol. 65, 2123-2144 and J.AOAC Int. 1993, Vol. 76, 926-940 internal quality control (IQC)--Harmonized Guidelines for Internal Quality Control in the Analytical Chemistry Laboratories. Pure & Appl. Chem. 1995, Vol. 67, 650-666 determining and use of recovery factor--Harmonized Protocol for Recovery Factor in Analytical Measurements--document CX/MAS 97/6 applicability of the measurement uncertainty--Measurement Uncertainity--document CX/MAS 97/7.