Ttulo

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THE NETWORK OF THE CHEMICAL-PRODUCT LABORATORIES
OF ITALIAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE

• Dott. Raffaele Di Fiore

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The creation of the network of laboratories
(ReteLab)

• The first laboratories of the chambers of
  commerce were created at the turn of the century
  (Messina - 1905, Trieste - 1906) with the aim of
  supporting the activity of the commodities
  exchange of the chambers, identifying the
  characteriscs of the products exchanged.
• The labs eventually became entitled to carry out
  technical tests and analysis of different nature
  professionally, thus becoming a territoral
  reference and a support to both enterprises in
  the market and consumers.

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The creation of the network of laboratories
(ReteLab)

• Driven by economic globalization, the growth in
  the volume of international trade has demanded
  the definition of clear-cut, reliable and more
  homogeneous rules, to satisfy the needs of
  correctness and transparency of economic
  transactions.
• These rules should not inhibit businesses
  competetiveness but represent a tool enabling
  enterprises to operate correctly in the global
  market, and,lastly, protect the final consumer.
• The Italian Chambers of Commerce have invested
  in improving quality of products and of processes
  as a competitive lever for the development of the
  Italian productive system and have, to this end,
  supported the creation of apposite structures
  such as RETELAB, (Rete dei Laboratori
  Chimico-Merceologici Network of the
  Chemical-Product Laboratories).

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Territorial distribution of the labs of the
ReteLab network
The 27 labs
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The Chemical-Product Lab of Naples
Having started its activity in 1938, the lab
offers chemical analysis and tests as well as
product and environmental certification for firms
operating in different sectors agricultural,
industrial and commercial. The lab is accredited
SINAL with regards to the sectors including
water, oil, wine, textiles, precious metals,
honey, cheese, cereals, clays, soil types and
compost. It issues and gives certificates
recognized at national and international level
for different products.
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Retelab sustains enterprises to step-up quality

• Retelab operates sustaining enterprises by
  offering a portfolio of different services such
  as
• a wide spectrum of chemical analysis and
  chemical-physical tests in some of the most
  strategic sectors of the Italian economy such as
  agrifood, textile, environment and jewellery
• activities aimed at the verification of the
  correspondence of the products to the standards
  fixed by national and European laws
• assistance in technical-promotional activities
  such as
• the correct interpretation of the results of the
  various lab tests
• coaching in the implementation of management
  systems
• consultancy/advice in critical aspects of
  transformation processes in the food sector
• help and information with regards to
  certification needed for exportation and
  importation.

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Quality and homogeneity

• The quality and homogeneity of the services is
  guaranteed by
• The public nature of the labs, assuring that
  their activities are reliable because strongly
  orientated to impartiality and independence.
• Accreditation of the labs to international
  standards which specify the requirements of
  competence and reliability of lab analysis and
  calibrations (UNI CEI EN ISO/IEC 17025) proven by
  accreditation to certification bodies such as EA
  (European co-operation for Accreditation) and
  ILAC (International Laboratory Accreditation
  Cooperation) relying on mutual recognition for
  analytical and calibration laboratories (MLA e
  ILAC arrangement).

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Organization and coordination of the ReteLab
network

• The work and functioning of the labs within the
  network is guaranteed by
• Unioncameres central coordination, by means of
  the role played by Dintec.
• Dintec is a consortium between the Italian
  chambers of commerce and Enea (Ente per le nuove
  tecnologie lEnergia e lAmbiente Public body
  for new technologies in the fields of energy and
  environment ) for the promotion of technological
  innovation that coordinates activities, works as
  a secretariat and assists Retelab and also
  supports the chambers laboratories in their
  networking activities

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Organization and coordination of the ReteLab
network

• The work and functioning of the labs within the
  network is guaranteed by
• The definition of specific agreements, also by
  means of variable geometry conventions
  depending on the different possible objects of
  the agreements. This allows
• To operate in a network logic, offering
  enterprises not just the tests carried out by the
  single territorial lab, but also those carried
  out by other labs belonging to ReteLab
• To guarantee that the same tests are carried out
  at the same time in different parts of the
  national territory activating contacts with one
  laboratory which works as a desk office for the
  acquisition of samples.

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Organization and coordination of the ReteLab
network

• Diversification of the context of activity
  (Retelab laboratories operate with regards to
  different types of product and on different
  levels)
• Operating system platform (www.labcam.camcom.it
  retalab_at_dintec.it).

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Examples of the activities conducted by the
Italian labs in the agrifood sector
Among the funding activities of the labs are the
activities connected to issues related to food
safety , which also concern the materials and
containers which are destined to store foods or
generally get in contact with them. Knowledge of
the composition of the materials in question,
including new forms of materials, and, in
particular, knowledge of the behaviour related to
the interaction of foods to new substances /
materials, is paramount for the food industry in
order to make decisions connected to production.
In the last years, studies are being made at
scientific level to determine how to measure and
assess the dangerousness of a determinate
substance/material once it is introduced, may it
be accidentally, in the food chain.
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Regulatory production rules
Examples of the activities conducted by the
Italian labs in the agrifood sector(II)

• Excellence in the food sector, food products
  labelled
• PDO (Protected designation of Origin)
• PGI (Protected Geographical Indication)
• are protected by means of regulatory production
  rules which discipline the production techniques
  and the area/place of production as well as the
  oragonoeleptic and physical characteristic the
  products must have

Mozzarella di Bufala Campana
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Examples of the activities conducted by the
Italian labs in other sectors

• Feed
• Packaging
• Textile
• Precious Metals
• Water
• Waste
• Environmental Testing
• Fuels
• Pesticides
• Microbiology

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How to network the key elements of the Italian
experience

• Geographical localisation taking advantage of
  the geografical localisation of the labs
  belonging to the network (which are distributed
  on the Italian territory) it is possible to
  dispose of
• a network of desks accepting samples, thus
  reducing the costs connected to expedition
• contact points on the territory which can offer
  consulting, marketing and technical support.
• Specialization Collaboration between the
  different Retelab labs is favoured by the
  different specialization the labs have and
  enables them to operate on different products/
  sectors and on different lines of investigation.
• Sharing of experience Collaboration between
  labs allows the sharing of different experiences
  and of technical data connected to the testing of
  products allowing constant improvement of the
  service offered.
• Rules Definition of the rules of functioning of
  the labs adhering to the network (by means of the
  drawing up of a Regulation)

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Retelab activities for EU Member States and
non-EU States
Collaboration through partnerships to offer
consultancy on specific issues to EU Member
States and non-EU members by means of Services
offered to enterprises implementation of
management systems with regards to the main
international standards quality (ISO 9001),
environment (ISO 14001), safety at work (OHSAS
18001), social responsabilty (SA8000) training/fo
rmation on requirements under EU law in specific
productive sectors (eg. agrifood, textile,
environment, jewelery, etc.) to favour
international trade support of
internationalization processes assistance in the
correct application of EU law concerning product
requirements.
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Retelab activities for EU member states and
non-EU states

• Services for laboratories, public national and
  local administrations
• implementation of accreditation systems for
  calibration and analytical labs under UNI CEI EN
  ISO/IEC 17025
• define responsabilities, duties, authority for
  staff
• implement and mantain a quality system
  appropriate to the activities undertaken
  (Quality Manual, Technical and Management
  Procedures, Operational Procedure, Modules etc.)
• rexamine requests, offers and contracts
• define criteria for the selection, acquisition of
  services and supplies
• cooperate with ones clients and manage complains
  when necessary
• manage non conformity adopting necessary
  preventive action and corrective measures
• improve sistematically ones management system
• organise internal auditing procedure to ones
  quality system
• guarantee staffs competence and adopt adequate
  training programmes
• ensure suitability of working place and the
  correct management and calibration of setupe and
  equipment
• define and implement control measures for the
  quality of test results
•  

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Retelab activities for EU member states and
non-EU states
technical training on different aspects
concerning the carrying out of tests, quality,
certification of products/services transfer of
know how in interdisciplinary management of
services and tests in a network
context realization of Projects (national
and/or comunity projects) particularly in with
regards to ensuring quality in trial methods
enhancing laboratory performance, etc. The
above activities could be implemented in
collaboration with local institutions in order to
enhance competence of local enterprises.
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Concluding

• In this way, the system of Italian Chambers can
  dispose of a quality network which can
  contribute to improve the competetiveness of our
  enterprises, scaling up the way they are
  perceived on the market, whilst protecting the
  final consumer by guaranteeing the standard and
  quality of products in partcular thanks to
• the implementation of management systems with
  regards to international standards related to
  quality (ISO 9001), environment (ISO 14001),
  safety at the workplace (OHSAS 18001), social
  responsibility (SA8000)
• the implementation of accreditation systems for
  calibration and chemical product laboratories
  with relation to UNI CEI EN ISO/IEC 17025
• technical training with regards to the carring
  out of tests , quality and certification of
  products and services

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Concluding
Training in terms of requirements under European
law with regards to determinate sectors (agri
food, textileclothing, environment jewelery,
etc.) to favour international trade Transfer of
know how with regards to the interdisciplinary
management of services and calibration tests with
regards to the experience acheived thanks to the
network. The actions stated above can be taken,
in collaboration with local institutions, in the
various countries, improving skills to favour
export of their products to European markets.
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THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION