Cotecna Houston Accredited ISO / IEC 17020

GENEVA, March 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- In February 2011, Cotecna Inspection, Inc., in Houston (USA), received the ISO/IEC 17020 certificate of accreditation from the US ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board / ACLASS.

The scope of accreditation includes inspection services for meat products, edible and other oils and fats, cereals and grains, containers and vessels.

ISO/IEC 17020 is an internationally recognized standard that sets out general criteria for the operation of various types of bodies performing inspection. It recognizes Cotecna's technical competence in the areas of inspection methods and procedures, but also covers aspects such as; integrity, management, confidentiality, facilities, reporting, etc.

Cotecna's US office in Houston (Texas) is ideally located to serve East Coast, Gulf Coast and West Coast cities and ports. They offer services including container inspection, supervision of loading and sampling of commodities in the agricultural sector, and tailor made services and solutions for the commodities and consumer goods sector. Biofuel testing and inspection includes biodiesel, ethanol and other fuels. The Houston office is also specialized in suppliers' audit services.

The Houston laboratory is GAFTA, AOCS, and FOSFA accredited and specializes in the analysis of vegetable oils, tallow and other fats and oils.

The Houston office also coordinates all Verification of Conformity (VoC) services in North and South America. This service is especially important for companies exporting to Algeria following the 2009 ruling by the Bank ofAlgeria that all imported goods must undergo pre-shipment inspection in their country of origin by third party surveyors.

About Cotecna

Founded in Switzerland in 1974, the Cotecna group offers a wide range of trade facilitation services, trade security services and quality certification standards. Cotecna is a pioneer in areas such as risk management, destination inspection and scanner integration projects and also offers Customs modernization programmes, Customs valuation assistance, trade security solutions and commercial inspections.

Cotecna conducts verification and certification activities across a range of sectors for importers and exporters worldwide. Areas of particular expertise include: agricultural products (grains, pulses, oilseeds and feedstuffs to liquid cargoes, sugar, fibers, fruits, coffee, fertilizers...), metals and minerals, chemical and petroleum products, marine surveys, industrial equipment surveys, vehicle inspections and consumer goods. Accredited laboratories and testing facilities ensure the delivery of high-quality, verifiable results.

For a full description of our services, please visit http://www.cotecna.com. The Cotecna Group has a combined workforce of about 4,000 employees and agents in close to 100 offices.

     Contacts:      HoustonCotecna Inspection, Inc.Houston     E-Mail: [email protected]Khaled Sharaf     Business Development Manager     Tel.: +1-713-842-4671      Jennifer Darwin     Operations Manager     Tel.: +1-713-842-4672      Cotecna PressAlison Bourgeois     Vice President Corporate Communications     Geneva     Tel.: +41-22-849-78-23     E-Mail: [email protected]

SOURCE Cotecna Inspection SA