In support of its mission to further voluntary standards and conformity assessment activities as a means of enhancing public health, safety, welfare, and the environment, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), and its subsidiary, the ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB), are pleased to announce their intent to strengthen, reinforce, and expand their respective accreditation activities in areas relating to cannabis and cannabis-related products.
In keeping with legal guidelines adopted by the ANSI Executive Committee of the Board of Directors on July 24, 2019, ANSI's activities will include accrediting qualifying standards developing organizations (SDOs) and approving SDOs' cannabis-related standards that qualify as American National Standards (ANS). Such standards may address, for example, indoor air quality in marijuana grow operations or standards for the remediation of illicit drugs.
ANAB has provided accreditation offerings for cannabis-related products since 2014, and building upon this significant technical experience, it will continue accrediting qualifying certification bodies, testing laboratories, proficiency test providers, and the like.
"The legal cannabis market is incredibly complex, and undoubtedly growing, prompting the need for effective voluntary standards and conformity assessment activities to support health, safety, environmental protection, and supply chain quality," said ANSI president and CEO S. Joe Bhatia. "ANSI has a responsibility to facilitate the accreditation and standardization solutions required to promote safety in conjunction with this growing industry, while strictly complying with all applicable Federal and State laws."
About ANSI
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is a private non-profit organization whose mission is to enhance U.S. global competitiveness and the American quality of life by promoting, facilitating, and safeguarding the integrity of the voluntary standardization and conformity assessment system. Its membership is comprised of businesses, professional societies and trade associations, standards developers, government agencies, and consumer and labor organizations.
The Institute represents and serves the diverse interests of more than 270,000 companies and organizations and 30 million professionals worldwide. ANSI is the official U.S. representative to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and, via the U.S. National Committee, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). For more information, visit www.ansi.org.
About ANAB
The ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB) is the largest multi-disciplinary ISO/IEC 17011 accreditation body in North America with an accreditation portfolio that includes management systems certification bodies, calibration and testing labs, product certification bodies, personnel credentialing organizations, forensic test and calibration service providers, inspection bodies, police crime units, greenhouse gas validation and verification bodies, reference material producers, and proficiency test providers.