Context: Reference Materials Producers (RMP) who held an accreditation according to ISO 17025 prior to the publication of ISO 17034.
Can such Reference Materials Producers continue to be accredited according to both the ISO 17025 and ISO 17034?
How is the issue enforced in other countries?
According EA MLA Structure the harmonised standard for Reference material producers is EN ISO 17034.
After publishing ISO 17034 and during the transition period for this standard (EA Resolution 2016 (38) 23), accredited by NAB calibration laboratories which produced RMs in accordance with 17025 and ISO Guide 34 had to decide what activity they wanted to perform: to produce RMs and gain accreditation according to ISO 17034 or/and to measure the RMs and held an accreditation according to ISO 17025.
Laboratories accredited to ISO 17025 can only measure reference materials (RMs) and offer services such as reference value provision e.g. used by the RMPs in their production processes, or they can be subcontractors for the producers of RM who do not have a laboratory.
The measurement uncertainty of these laboratories generally does not include contributions arising from the stability or homogeneity of the RM (because this is competence of RMP and not laboratory).
Laboratories accredited under ISO/IEC 17025 cannot issue a RM certificate, only a test or calibration report related to the sample/item tested/calibrated.
However it is allowed to CABs to be accredited for both ISO 17034 and ISO/IEC 17025 standards, taking care of not overlapping the activities (ie Certificate of Analysis shall relate only to the item tested and not to the batch).