Prodigy Labs is an ISO/IEC 17025:2017 accredited analytical testing laboratory in San Diego, California, accredited by PJLA. Our accreditation is your assurance that results are technically sound, legally defensible, and accepted by regulatory agencies and major retailers.
ISO/IEC 17025:2017 is the global benchmark for laboratory technical competence. When a lab is accredited, it means an independent body has independently verified — not just asked — that the lab can actually produce accurate, reproducible measurements. Accreditation is not self-declared and cannot be purchased; it is earned through documented evidence and on-site assessment.
Analysts are qualified for each method they perform. Competency is documented and evaluated, not assumed.
All measurements are traceable to national or international standards through an unbroken chain of calibrations.
A documented quality system governs sample handling, data review, corrective actions, and continuous improvement.
Results are reviewed by qualified staff, uncertainty is estimated and reported, and records are retained and auditable.
Method validation — each analytical method is formally validated against defined performance criteria before use on client samples
Equipment calibration — instruments are calibrated on schedule with reference standards traceable to NIST or equivalent
Proficiency testing — the laboratory participates in external proficiency testing programs and must demonstrate acceptable performance
Analyst qualification — documented training records, competency evaluations, and ongoing performance monitoring for all analysts
Measurement uncertainty — every reported result includes an estimated measurement uncertainty, quantifying the range within which the true value lies
Impartiality and independence — documented policies ensure results are not influenced by commercial pressure or conflicts of interest
Not all testing labs are equal. Here is what ISO 17025 accreditation actually requires — and what non-accredited labs are not required to demonstrate.
| Feature | ISO 17025 Accredited (PJLA) | Non-Accredited Lab |
|---|---|---|
| Independent verification of technical competence | ✓ Yes — assessed by PJLA | ✗ Self-declared |
| Method validation documented and verified | ✓ Required | Varies — not externally verified |
| Measurement uncertainty included in results | ✓ Required | ✗ Rarely reported |
| Accepted by FDA in regulatory submissions | ✓ Yes | ✗ Often not accepted |
| Accepted by Amazon / Whole Foods / retailer programs | ✓ Yes | ✗ Typically not accepted |
| Proficiency testing participation | ✓ Required | ✗ Not required |
| Equipment calibration traceable to national standards | ✓ Required | Not independently verified |
| Public accreditation certificate you can verify | ✓ Yes — searchable at pjlabs.com | ✗ No public record |
ISO 17025 accreditation is increasingly required — not just preferred — across regulatory, retail, and legal contexts.
The FDA's cGMP regulations for dietary supplements (21 CFR Part 111) and pharmaceutical manufacturing require testing by technically competent laboratories. ISO 17025-accredited COAs are the accepted standard for ingredient identity, potency, and contaminant testing submitted in regulatory contexts.
Amazon's Dietary Supplement Program and Whole Foods Market require ISO 17025-accredited Certificates of Analysis as a condition of listing or continued shelf placement. Non-accredited COAs are typically rejected in vendor qualification reviews.
Third-party supplement verification and marketing programs — including SuppCo TESTED and similar trust marks — require testing from PJLA or equivalent ILAC-member accredited laboratories as a condition of program participation and verified claims.
In product liability, adulteration claims, and FDA enforcement actions, testing data carries significantly more evidentiary weight when generated by an ISO 17025-accredited laboratory. Non-accredited results are routinely challenged in court and regulatory proceedings.
Peer-reviewed journals and federal grant programs (NIH, NSF, DOD) increasingly require that analytical data supporting published findings or grant deliverables originate from ISO 17025-accredited facilities to ensure reproducibility and data quality.
Products exported to or imported from countries with regulatory frameworks requiring recognized laboratory certification — including EU, Canada, Australia, and Japan — are facilitated by ILAC-member accreditation. PJLA is an ILAC-signatory body.
ISO/IEC 17025:2017 is the international standard for testing and calibration laboratories. Accreditation to this standard means an independent accreditation body has formally verified that the laboratory has the technical competence to produce accurate, traceable, and reproducible analytical results. It covers the entire testing process: method validation, equipment calibration, staff competence, quality management, and data integrity.
PJLA (Perry Johnson Laboratory Accreditation, Inc.) is an ISO/IEC 17011-compliant accreditation body recognized by ILAC (the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation). PJLA-accredited laboratories meet the same international competence requirements as labs accredited by A2LA, NVLAP, or any other ILAC-member body. PJLA accreditation is accepted by the FDA, EPA, and major retailers including Amazon and Whole Foods.
ISO 17025 accreditation makes testing data legally defensible and regulatorily credible. The FDA expects testing data supporting dietary supplement label claims or pharmaceutical batch release to come from technically competent laboratories. Retailers like Amazon and Whole Foods require ISO 17025-accredited COAs from their supplement vendors. An ISO 17025 COA carries more weight than a certificate from a non-accredited lab in regulatory audits, litigation, and enforcement actions.
To verify ISO 17025 accreditation, look up the laboratory by name on the accreditation body's public registry. For PJLA-accredited labs, search the PJLA directory at pjlabs.com. The accreditation certificate should include the lab's accreditation number, scope of accreditation (specific tests and methods), and expiration date. Accreditation certificates are public documents — any accredited lab should be willing to provide theirs on request.
ISO 9001 is a quality management system standard that verifies a company has documented processes and follows them — but it does not verify technical competence. ISO 17025 is a laboratory-specific standard that verifies both the quality system AND the technical capability to produce accurate measurement results. A factory can be ISO 9001 certified; only a technically competent testing laboratory can be ISO 17025 accredited.
Prodigy Labs' accreditation scope covers the specific analytical methods for which PJLA has evaluated our technical competence. The scope includes key methods used for supplement, environmental, and pharmaceutical testing — including Py-GC/MS for microplastics, GC-MS and GC-FID for residual solvents, and HPLC-UV and LC-MS for potency and identity testing. For the exact current scope, refer to our PJLA accreditation certificate or contact us.
All of the following services are performed in our ISO 17025-accredited facility. COAs are issued on accredited letterhead with our PJLA accreditation number.
Potency, identity, label claim verification
Lead, arsenic, cadmium, mercury, full elemental panels
Polymer identification and quantification
LAL assay per USP <85> and ICH Q6A
Purity, identity, and potency by LC-MS / HPLC
GC-MS / GC-FID per USP <467>
Full list of accredited and in-development methods
Contact us for a copy of our PJLA certificate and scope of accreditation, or to discuss whether our accredited methods cover your testing needs.