Accreditation

ISO/IEC 17043: Conformity assessment – General requirements for the competence of proficiency testing providers

Within the scope of the accreditation studies initiated by our Department in 2011 in accordance with ISO/IEC 17043, a total of eight proficiency testing organizations were conducted. As there was no proficiency testing provider accredited according to ISO/IEC 17043 in Türkiye for cereals, pulses, and oilseeds, laboratories in the country had to participate in international proficiency testing schemes. In order to ensure that the proficiency testing organizations conducted by our laboratory are recognized and approved at both national and international levels, accreditation by TÜRKAK (Turkish Accreditation Agency) in accordance with TS EN ISO/IEC 17043 became a necessity.

For this reason, our laboratory completed all necessary preparations and applied to TÜRKAK for TS EN ISO/IEC 17043 accreditation in 2021, and was successfully accredited in 2022.

Our laboratory is accredited by the TÜRKAK as a Proficiency Testing Provider in accordance with TS EN ISO/IEC 17043 for the following tests:

Cereals

• Besatz

• Grain impurities

• Miscellaneous impurities (Schwarzbesatz)

• Mass per hectoliter (NilemaLiter)

• Mass per hectoliter (Automatic measuring instruments)

• Protein determination by Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIR)

• Moisture determination by Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIR)

Cereals and Wheat Flour

• Protein Determination

• Moisture Determination

• Wet Gluten Determination

• Dry Gluten Determination

• Gluten Index Determination

• Falling Number Determination

• Zeleny Sedimentation Index Determination

• Delayed (Modified) Sedimentation Index Determination

• Ash Determination

Common Wheat

• Hardness Index Determination

Common Wheat and Common Wheat Flour

• Damaged Starch Determination

• Farinograph Analyses
  (Water Absorption, Dough Development Time, Stability, Degree of Softening)

• Alveograph Analyses
  (P – Maximum pressure parameter,
  L – The mean of the abscissa value at rupture,
  G – Swelling index,
  Iₑ – Elasticity index,
  P/L – Curve configuration ratio,
  W – Deformation energy)

• Extensograph Analyses
  (Energy, R50 – Resistance to Extension at 50 mm,
  E – Extensibility,
  Rm – Maximum Resistance
  after 45 min, 90 min and 135 min)

Paddy Rice

• Determination of besatz

• Determination of impurities

• Determination of miscellaneous impurities (Schwarzbesatz)

• Determination of milling yield

Chickpea

• Determination of moisture (rapid method)

• Determination of moisture

• Determination of extraneous matter

• Determination of defective kernel

• Determination of broken kernel

• Determination of sieve undersize kernels (below 5 mm)

• Determination of immature, hard kernels,

• Determination of other type admixture

• Determination of color admixture

• Determination of kernel size (≥ 9 mm, ≤ 8 mm)

Sunflower Seed

• NMR Analyses (Moisture, Oil Content)

• Determination of moisture and volatile matter

• Determination of oil content

• Determination of extraneous matter

• Determination of defective kernel

• Determination of empty kernel

• Determination of dehulled seeds

Our laboratory is accredited by TÜRKAK as a Proficiency Testing Provider for the tests listed above.

ISO/IEC 17043 Accreditation Certificate and Scope

ISO/IEC 17025: General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories

Our Product Technology and Laboratory Department was first accredited in 2009 for 8 test methods. Throughout the accreditation process, the Department has made significant progress in complying with international standards, continuously raising its quality level and increasing the number of accredited test methods to 40.

Our laboratory has been accredited by the Turkish Accreditation Agency (TÜRKAK) in accordance with TS EN ISO/IEC 17025 as follows:

• 2009: Alveograph, mass per hectoliter, moisture, ash, crude protein, sedimentation, wet gluten, falling number analyses

• 2011: Physical analyses of cereals, paddy rice, and rice

• 2013: Farinograph, extensograph, aflatoxin, oil determination, and damaged starch analyses

• 2016: Dry gluten, gluten index, delayed (modified) sedimentation index, and extraneous matter analyses in oilseeds

• 2019: NIR protein and NIR moisture analyses

• 2021: Chickpea physical analyses, wheat hardness, in-shell hazelnut, hazelnut kernel, and wheat flour acidity determination analyses

• 2023: Moisture determination (rapid method – dielectric method), moisture determination (NMR), oil determination (NMR), 1000 kernel weight determination

In total, our laboratory is accredited for 40 test methods.

ISO/IEC 17025 Accreditation Certificate and Scope

Since participation in proficiency testing is a requirement of accreditation, our Department regularly participates in international proficiency testing schemes organized by BIPEA (France), a recognized proficiency testing provider.

In this context, our laboratory participates ten months of the year in proficiency tests covering:

• Physical, chemical, physicochemical, rheological, and instrumental analyses in cereals, and

• Physical and chemical analyses in pulses,

with the participation of over 200 laboratories worldwide.

Reference Authorized Classifier

Within the scope of Law No. 5300 on Licensed Warehousing, our Department was licensed in 2011 by the Ministry of Customs and Trade as a “Reference Authorized Classifier” for the product groups of cereals, pulses, and oilseeds. Under this license, our laboratory has assumed the responsibility of auditing exchange and company laboratories applying for an Authorized Classifier License in accordance with the Licensed Warehousing Law.

Within this framework, Authorized Classifier laboratories are audited twice a year:

• one audit is conducted on-site by visiting the laboratories in person,

• the other is conducted through a Proficiency Testing (PT) organization, in which test samples prepared and analyzed by our laboratory are sent to Authorized Classifier laboratories, the analyses are performed by those laboratories, and the results are submitted to our laboratory within a specified period.

Reference Authorized Classifier Activity Certificate

As of December 2025, the number of licensed Authorized Classifier laboratories has reached 376. Licensed warehousing activities are expanding rapidly throughout Türkiye, and our laboratory holds a key position as a Reference Authorized Classifier within this system.