October 10, 2026
The Ministry of Agriculture announced the opening of accreditation for private control companies to participate in the work of inspection and sampling of agricultural products prepared for export, within the framework of organizing control and verifying that shipments meet the requirements for pesticide residues.
The Ministry explained that applications are being received in accordance with the provisions of Resolution No. 260/1 issued on August 2, 2021, stressing the need for the applying companies to possess a valid accreditation in accordance with the international standard (ISO/IEC 17020) for inspection work, provided that it is issued by an accreditation body that is a member of the (EA) or (ILAC) organizations, or by an internationally recognized body in accordance with the nature of the required work.
The mandatory conditions included the availability of a quality management system, documented procedures for taking samples, tracking them, and their chain of custody, in addition to a qualified technical staff to carry out inspection and control tasks in accordance with approved procedures.
The Ministry called on companies wishing to be accredited to submit comprehensive files that include: the accreditation application, the valid (ISO/IEC 17020) certificate and its scope, documents of the accreditation body and quality system, procedures for taking and preserving samples, in addition to a list of the names of observers and technicians and their qualifications and experience, in addition to any additional documents that the Ministry may request.
The Ministry set the deadline for submitting applications as one working week, starting from the date of issuance of the announcement, provided that the complete files are deposited with the “Ministry of Agriculture – the Bureau Department – the Administrative Department” during official working hours.
The Ministry confirmed that it reserves the right to request additional information or documents to complete the study of the files, specifying the goal of these procedures to tighten control over exported agricultural products, especially those subject to pesticide residue tests, and to ensure accurate tracking and examination before export.
