Article 3 · Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/1353

Contents

Article 3Official laboratories in the areas of plant health#

The competent authorities may designate laboratories which do not fulfil the conditions referred to in Article 37(4), point (e) of Regulation (EU) 2017/625 in relation to all the methods of laboratory analysis, test or diagnosis they use for official controls or other official activities, as official laboratories in the areas of plant health provided that:

(a)those laboratories have a quality assurance system in place to ensure that reliable results are obtained from the use of methods of laboratory analysis, test or diagnosis outside the scope of their accreditation;

(b)the non-accredited methods used by those laboratories are characterised by the relevant criteria to the area of plant health set out in Annex III to Regulation (EU) 2017/625, and

(c)the laboratory is already accredited for at least one of the methods listed in the categories referred to in the Annex for use on a pest from the same organism group as the pest for which the non-accredited method is used.