Accredia, the body appointed by the Italian government to certify the competence and impartiality of Italian conformity assessment bodies and laboratories, has a new mark and a new accreditation numbering system.

Consequently, Catas, as an Accredia-accredited testing laboratory and certification body, will adopt the new brand and the new accreditation numbering system, in accordance with the General Regulation for the use of the Accredia logo and brand and the Accredia Information Circular 4/2024.

Promoting the free movement of goods and services

Accredia is a signatory to the International Mutual Recognition Agreements European co-operation for Accreditation (EA), International Accreditation Forum (IAF) and International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC). These agreements promote the free movement of goods and services, so that test reports and certificates bearing the Accredia mark are recognised in all countries that have signed the agreements.

Unique accreditation number per legal entity

With the introduction of the new system, the accreditation number will be unique for each legal entity, regardless of the type of accreditation held. Both schemes will therefore be associated with the unique identification number 00024 in Accredia's databases.

Therefore, as of 1 April 2025, test reports issued by Catas will bear the new mark and the new accreditation number. In the case of revisions of individual tests within a test report file, all accredited tests will be updated (with an increase in the revision number and date of issue) to ensure uniformity of the mark.

Involving the Certification Body - CQA

From 1 April 2025, the Product Certification Body will also issue certificates for certification schemes under Accredia accreditation with the new mark and numerical reference, in line with the accreditation body's directives. Consequently, the certificates of the Catas Quality Award - CQA Formaldehyde CARB and Catas Quality Award - CQA Formaldehyde TSCA Title VI (EPA) schemes, issued in accordance with the requirements for Californian and US low formaldehyde emission panels, referring to Q1 2025 will also bear the new mark and numerical reference.

Catas, Accredia-accredited laboratory

Catas has received formal recognition from Accredia certifying its suitability to perform specific types of analysis and produce technically valid results. This important recognition involves Accredia's assessment of the laboratory's quality system, through the analysis of procedures and documentation, and verification of the technical competence, at all stages of analysis, required to perform laboratory tests correctly.