ANAB, like so many other accreditation bodies, are never held accountable under any laws, so what you’re about to read isn’t even shocking anymore.
Over on LinkedIn, the ANSI National Accreditation Board posted a straight-faced promotion for an upcoming seminar that, it says, will help attendees “identify laboratory fraud to strengthen oversight.” Take a look:
According to the webinar’s signup page, the class will teach all about “data defensibility” (emphasis added):
Data defensibility is a key issue in the laboratory. Laboratories reporting data for regulatory bodies are required to train employees in data integrity and ethics to ensure that data is generated using proper laboratory techniques. This webinar covers common indicators for laboratory fraud and addresses how laboratory management can implement strategies to ensure that data is defensible and complete. The webinar also provides best practices and establishes expectations for the proper methods of testing and reporting sample information.
When I saw that, I thought I’d go back and check in on how well ANAB’s accredited test labs are doing in this regard.
If you recall, we reported back in 2022 that one of those labs, Cannex RSR (also known as LettuceTest), got itself into hot water for the exact opposite of what ANAB is teaching, specifically, data falsification of lab results. The cannabis testing lab’s actions were so flagrant that Nevada state regulators threatened a ten-year ban on LettuceTest.
When I sent an email pointing out this problem to ANAB’s VP, R. Doug Leonard, he thought he would pretend to be a sober professional for a few minutes and file my informal notice as a “formal complaint.” Fine, but of course, they then handed this over to another VP (they have a lot of them), Reinaldo Figueiredo. He dragged his feet for nearly five months and then sent a completely vague letter, saying ANAB had looked into the matter and did… well, something? He didn’t say.
A check into ANAB’s records, though, shows they re-accredited LettuceTest to ISO 17025 a month prior to Figueiredo’s letter, right as the lab was deep in the middle of its Nevada investigation for fraud.
This then emboldened LettuceTest’s attorneys, who then used the ANAB accreditation as a legal defense during official hearings with the Nevada regulators. Because that’s what ISO accreditation really is: a protection racket. If you pay your AB, they will help cover up crimes and smooth things over in court.
When ANAB talks about “data defensibility,” that is what they mean.
But how did that work out? Not so good, in fact. LettuceTest lost its argument, and the company was fined $57,500 and hit with a (fairly meager) 180-day suspension. Even though they avoided the ten-year ban, they just shut down the company and are no longer even operating since they struggled to pay the fines.
Good job, ANAB!
Christopher Paris is the founder and VP Operations of Oxebridge. He has over 35 years’ experience implementing ISO 9001 and AS9100 systems, and helps establish certification and accreditation bodies with the ISO 17000 series. He is a vocal advocate for the development and use of standards from the point of view of actual users. He is the writer and artist of THE AUDITOR comic strip, and is currently writing the DR. CUBA pulp novel series. Visit www.drcuba.world
