2200 Powell St., Suite 725

Emeryville, CA 94608

www.scscertified.com

Ph: 510

‐ 452

‐ 8000

Fax: 510

‐ 452

‐ 8001



# FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Rebecca Graham, SCS

510

‐ 452

‐ 8020

rgraham@scscertified.com



## Scientific Certification Systems Achieves ISO/IEC Guide 65 Accreditation

SQF Food Safety, PEFC Wood Produc ts Chain-of-Custody, and VeriFlora ® Sustainably Grown

Flower and Plant Certification Programs Included in ANSI-Issued Certificate

March 26, 2009

– Emeryville, CA

– The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has accredited

Scientific Certifications Systems (SCS) to ISO/IEC Guide 65, an internationally recognized performance

standard for third

‐ party certification bodies. The accreditation covers its food safety auditing conducted

on behalf of the Safe Quality Foods standards (SQF 1000 and SQF 2000), wood and paper products

chain

‐ of

‐ custody for the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC), and SCS’s

proprietary VeriFlora® Certified Sustainably Grown Program for cut flowers, potted plants and nursery

plants, as well as its corporate

‐ level policies and procedures.

“SCS’ strong commitment to the ANSI accreditation program has been particularly impressive,” said

Reinaldo Figueiredo, Program Director of Product Certification Accreditation at ANSI.

“For 25 years, SCS has stood for scientifically rigorous certification,” said Stan Rhodes, SCS president and

founder. “Earning accreditation at the ISO level provides independent evidence of our commitment to

providing quality assessment services to our clients.”

To achieve accreditation, SCS completed a thorough assessment process demonstrating its competence

to provide independent, impartial assessment and certification services. ANSI, the IAF (International

Accreditation Forum) MLA signatory for product certification, reviewed and assessed SCS’s processes

and procedures, and conducted a thorough assessment of the SCS headquarters in Emeryville. ANSI’s

assessors and technical experts also conducted “witness assessments”, accompanying SCS auditors in

the field, to ensure full compliance with the requirements of the respective programs and ISO/IEC Guide

65 as well as ANSI accreditation criteria.

Accredited programs at SCS now include:

Food Safety auditing for farms and processors under the SQF (Safe Quality Food) 1000 and

2000 standards

SQF is a leading global food safety and quality certification and management system providing

independent certification that a supplier's food safety and quality management system complies

with international and domestic food safety regulations. It is administered by the Safe Food

Quality Institute, a division of the Food Marketing Institute.

PEFC Chain

‐ of

‐ Custody Certification for Wood and Paper Products

PEFC is a global umbrella organization for the assessment of and mutual recognition of national

forest certification schemes developed in a multi

‐ stakeholder process, currently including 35

independent national forest certification systems around the world. SCS now offers dual



### ‐ more ‐

### Page 2

certification with Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification for clients seeking the stamp of

both programs.

VeriFlora® Certified Sustainably Grown Cut Flowers, Potted Plants and Nursery Plants

The VeriFlora program provides stringent sustainability performance standards for growers and

handlers of cut flowers, potted plants and nursery plants, addressing environmental

accountability, the health and well

‐ being of workers, their families and communities, and

economic viability. SCS is the exclusive certifier of VeriFlora products.

For more information, please visit www.scscertified.com

.

# # #

About SCS

SCS is global leader in independent certification of environmental, sustainability, food quality and food

purity claims. Over two decades, SCS has developed internationally recognized standards and

certification programs aimed at spurring the highest level of environmental improvements, social

accountability and product performance. Its programs span a wide cross section of the economy,

recognizing accomplishments in agricultural production, food processing and handling, forestry,

fisheries, flowers and plants, energy, green building, consumer and business product manufacturing,

and corporate social responsibility.

About ANSI

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is a private non

‐ profit organization whose mission is to

enhance U.S. global competitiveness and the American quality of life by promoting, facilitating, and

safeguarding the integrity of the voluntary standardization and conformity assessment system. Its

membership is comprised of businesses, professional societies and trade associations, standards

developers, government agencies, and consumer and labor organizations. The Institute represents the

diverse interests of more than 125,000 companies and organizations and 3.5 million professionals

worldwide.