international activity

The Israel Accreditation Authority started out as the Israel Laboratory Accreditation Authority, a statutory corporation established by law in April 1997. The establishment of ISRAC is the result of the need for transparent, uniform and objective criteria for assessing the professional competence of laboratories. The world trade agreements (signed under the World Trade Organization WTO) also support the existence of a national laboratory accreditation body. ISRAC is the official authority, by law, responsible for laboratory accreditation in Israel. ISRAC’s purpose is to allow harmonization and mutual recognition between the State of Israel and other countries regarding measurements, calibrations and testing. In addition, ISRAC aids the Israeli consumer in need of laboratory services and testing, calibration and measurement organisations, directly or indirectly.

ISRAC is a full recognized member of the international organisation ILAC. As such, ISRAC is obligated, like all other members of the organisation, to operate according to the international standard regarding accreditation bodies:
ISO/IEC 17011; Conformity assessment – General requirements for accreditation bodies accrediting conformity assessment bodies.
ISRAC has signed a mutual recognition agreement with ILAC and the European Accreditation (EA) establishing that the accreditation bodies that are part of the arrangement shall recognize the test results produced by any laboratory accredited by ISRAC. The number of countries that are part of the arrangement is constantly on the rise and the list of countries and the agreement itself can be viewed on the ILAC website www.ilac.org .

ISRAC is the designated representative of the State of Israel for the recognition of test facilities working according to GLP (Good Laboratory Practice) principles. The directive required for recognition according to GLP principles is OECD-GLP. The state of Israel has a mutual recognition agreement regarding GLP with the European community and the OECD, thus ensuring mutual recognition from countries signatories to these agreements.