Strengthening Food Safety in Iraq through proficiency testing: enhancing laboratory competence and quality assurance: a review

Abstract

Ensuring food safety remains a pressing public health and economic imperative in Iraq, a nation marked by rich agricultural traditions yet hindered by infrastructural challenges and inconsistent regulatory enforcement. Despite established legal frameworks, significant gaps in compliance have led to persistent contamination issues, including heavy metals in meats, pathogenic bacteria in dairy products, and adulteration across food commodities. Proficiency testing (PT) can serve as a catalyst to improve this situation by providing an external quality assurance mechanism that benchmarks laboratory performance and fosters accuracy and consistency. International standards underscore the importance of PT-ISO/IEC 17025:2017 and ISO/IEC 15189:2022 requires laboratories to regularly verify result accuracy via inter-laboratory comparisons, and ILAC’s 2024 policy (P9:01/2024) mandates that accreditation bodies utilize PT outcomes as part of the lab accreditation process. Implementing robust PT schemes in Iraq, however, faces barriers—from technical limitations (scarcity of trained personnel and accredited PT providers) and financial constraints to limited regulatory enforcement compelling labs to participate. This review critically examines these challenges and synthesizes strategies to integrate PT into Iraq’s food safety framework. Key recommendations include investing in laboratory capacity (modernizing equipment and training staff), establishing a national PT program (or partnerships with international PT providers) to cover priority contaminants, and strengthening governance by embedding PT participation into national food safety regulations and laboratory accreditation criteria. By institutionalizing proficiency testing, Iraq can enhance the reliability and comparability of laboratory results, improve the credibility of its food safety oversight, and align its practices with international standards of accreditation and quality assurance.