Accreditation and Certification

Our motto is contained in the following sentence: “We think and we realize”

The task of the Institute’s management is to achieve the established objectives, with a commitment to continuously review the quality management system to ensure the improvement of its efficiency and effectiveness.

All employees adhere to the highest ethical standards, which include compliance with laws, standards, technical regulations, and the quality management system.

The established quality management system at the Institute serves as a framework for carrying out key business processes as well as support processes for operations.

Our efforts are coordinated and unified within a documented and certified quality management system, aligned with the international standard series SRPS ISO 9001:2015, while the professional competencies of the Institute are confirmed in accordance with the law and the authorizations of the competent ministries, including scientific accreditation and accreditation according to SRPS ISO/IEC 17025:2017. The appointed management representative is responsible for the operation of the quality management system and its continuous oversight.

Researchers and managers at all levels are obliged to contribute, by personal example, to the sustainable development of a culture of quality and work excellence in the areas and business activities for which they are responsible.

The Institute is an institution financed through market operations, and this way of conducting business determines the employees’ approach to performing their work tasks. Specifically, the Institute follows the principle that all employees share responsibility for ensuring and executing tasks, and likewise, all employees share the results of their work in the form of earnings. Every new employee joining the Institute is introduced to this principle.

The market-oriented approach to work and operations acts as a motivation for all employees, encouraging them to support each other in securing new business and ensuring the fulfillment of concluded contracts.

The Institute for Meat Hygiene and Technology established a documented and certified quality and work system in 2001 in accordance with the requirements of the then-current version of the JUS ISO 9001:2001 standard, as a leading scientific-research organization in the field of production and testing of foods of animal origin, other types of food, and general-use items. Certification of the business system according to the new version of the SRPS ISO 9001:2015 standard was carried out on 5 July 2018, with the latest recertification of the management system under this standard completed in December 2022.

In line with the pursuit of obtaining accredited organization status according to international and national criteria in the relevant field, a decision was made at the beginning of April 2002 to submit a request to the Yugoslav Accreditation Body (JUAT) for the first accreditation of the Institute’s Laboratory Sector (today the Laboratory for Biotechnological Development and Food Quality and Safety Control) according to the requirements of the JUS ISO/IEC 17025:2001 standard. This marked the achievement of one of the Institute’s long-term efforts and development goals regarding recognition of the Laboratory’s competence.

This was due to the fact that for several decades the Institute had been an officially authorized laboratory for analyses, confirmatory analyses, and quality control (of meat, meat products, other foods, and general-use items), keeping pace with global advancements in analytical methods, and always being ready to meet the requirements of clients and inspection authorities both domestically and abroad.

It should be noted that decades before receiving the quality system certificate, the Institute’s Laboratory already had procedures equivalent to the requirements of the first version of the ISO 17025:2001 standard for laboratories. The first accreditation certificate was issued following an assessment in November 2001, and Accreditation Decision No. 01-049 was issued by JUAT on 27 December 2002. The Institute was among the first to be accredited according to this standard and has maintained its status as an accredited organization for more than 20 years.

To continuously follow new standards and client requirements in the field of organic production and to expand its range of services, the Institute for Meat Hygiene and Technology has been accredited for conformity assessment within the Scope of Accreditation by the Accreditation Body of Serbia (ATS), in accordance with the SRPS EN ISO/IEC 17065:2016 standard. This standard covers the certification of the following products from organic production:

• Organic and plant production, organic seeds, seedlings, and planting material;

• Organic livestock farming and organic livestock products, including processing of organic products;

• Processing of organic products: organic food and organic animal feed, in accordance with the Organic Production Law (“Official Gazette of RS” Nos. 30/10 and 17/19) and the Rulebook on Control and Certification in Organic Production and Methods of Organic Production (“Official Gazette of RS” Nos. 95/20 and 24/21).

Information regarding control and certification in organic production can be obtained from Dr. Ivana Branković Lazić at telephone number +381 11 2650-655, extension 125.