Brookings, South Dakota
August 29, 2008
SGS
has two of the first group of qualified auditors worldwide for
the
Excellence Through Stewardship (ETS) program of the
Biotechnology Industry Organization
(BIO).
Excellence Through Stewardship is the first industry-coordinated
program to provide stewardship and quality management programs
for the entire life-cycle of biotech plants. The program is
intended to promote the responsible use of agricultural
biotechnology, the continued global adoption of plant
biotechnology and the enhanced value of biotech-derived plant
products in the marketplace.
A key component of this program is the requirement for
independent third party audits of the companies’ Quality
Management Systems and Stewardship programs to ensure compliance
with ETS objectives and management practices. The audits are
conducted in phases with initial audits done in the United
States of the completed Quality Management System from gene
discovery through Breeder seed. The second phase will involve
audits of the global operations for all phases of the product
life-cycle. The audits will focus on areas such as management
support, measureable quality objectives and standards, document
and material control systems, compliance with regulations, CIP
mechanism’s and the stewardship program itself.
SGS contacts for agricultural biotechnology audit services:
The SGS Group is the global
leader and innovator in inspection, verification, testing and
certification services. Founded in 1878, SGS is recognized as
the global benchmark in quality and integrity. With more than
53'000 employees, SGS operates a network of over 1’000 offices
and laboratories around the world. |
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