Abbreviation | NSAI |
---|---|
Formation | 1999 |
Type | Standards testing and accreditation |
Region served | Ireland |
Website | www.nsai.ie |
The National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) is the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) member body for the Republic of Ireland. The NSAI is also a member of the European Organisation for Technical Approvals.
The NSAI was established by the National Standards Authority of Ireland Act, 1996. [1] In 1946 standards functions were the responsibility of Institute for Industrial Research and Standards, in 1988 they passed to Eolas — The Irish Science and Technology Agency, and in 1994 passed to Forfás before passing to the NSAI.
As Ireland's official standards body, the NSAI aims to inspire consumer confidence and protect industry interests through setting standards and issuing certification in the quality and safety of goods and services. The NSAI benchmarks these standards against international best practice and is therefore a key facilitator of fair trade both in Ireland and in global markets.
The NSAI provides knowledge-based services and technical support to the Irish Government, consumers and industry, through:
As well as domestic activities, the NSAI also represents Ireland in European and international standards bodies, whose aim is to harmonise standards and remove technical barriers to trade.
UN/CEFACT is the United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business. It was established as an intergovernmental body of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) in 1996 and evolved from UNECE's long tradition of work in trade facilitation which began in 1957.
The European Committee for Standardization is a public standards organization whose mission is to foster the economy of the European Single Market and the wider European continent in global trading, the welfare of European citizens and the environment by providing an efficient infrastructure to interested parties for the development, maintenance and distribution of coherent sets of standards and specifications.
An industrial and provident society (IPS) is a body corporate registered for carrying on any industries, businesses, or trades specified in or authorised by its rules.
GOST refers to a set of international technical standards maintained by the Euro-Asian Council for Standardization, Metrology and Certification (EASC), a regional standards organization operating under the auspices of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).
Type approval or certificate of conformity is granted to a product that meets a minimum set of regulatory, technical and safety requirements. Generally, type approval is required before a product is allowed to be sold in a particular country, so the requirements for a given product will vary around the world. Processes and certifications known as type approval in English are often called homologation, or some cognate expression, in other European languages.
The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment is a department of the Government of Ireland. It is led by the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment.
ANEC, formally The European consumer voice in standardisation, is an organisation promoting and defending the collective European consumer interest in the process of standardization, and in related fields such as conformity assessment (e.g.certification), market surveillance and enforcement. ANEC also aims to influence legislation that makes reference to standards or standardization. In November 2008, ANEC adopted the strapline 'Raising Standards for Consumers' as part of an initiative to improve the visibility of the association. On 15 March 2018, World Consumer Rights' Day, ANEC launched a short video to explain its role and highlight some of its successes.
Food safety is used as a scientific method/discipline describing handling, preparation, and storage of food in ways that prevent foodborne illness. The occurrence of two or more cases of a similar illness resulting from the ingestion of a common food is known as a food-borne disease outbreak. This includes a number of routines that should be followed to avoid potential health hazards. In this way, food safety often overlaps with food defense to prevent harm to consumers. The tracks within this line of thought are safety between industry and the market and then between the market and the consumer. In considering industry-to-market practices, food safety considerations include the origins of food including the practices relating to food labeling, food hygiene, food additives and pesticide residues, as well as policies on biotechnology and food and guidelines for the management of governmental import and export inspection and certification systems for foods. In considering market-to-consumer practices, the usual thought is that food ought to be safe in the market and the concern is safe delivery and preparation of the food for the consumer. Food safety, nutrition and food security are closely related. Unhealthy food creates a cycle of disease and malnutrition that affects infants and adults as well.
The Association of International Accountants (AIA) is a professional accountancy body. It was founded in the UK in 1928 and since that date has promoted the concept of ‘international accounting’ to create a global network of accountants in over 85 countries worldwide.
The South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) is a South African statutory body that was established in terms of the Standards Act and continues to operate in terms of the latest edition of the Standards Act, 2008 as the national institution for the promotion and maintenance of standardization and quality in connection with commodities and the rendering of services.
Consumer protection is the practice of safeguarding buyers of goods and services, and the public, against unfair practices in the marketplace. Consumer protection measures are often established by law. Such laws are intended to prevent businesses from engaging in fraud or specified unfair practices to gain an advantage over competitors or to mislead consumers. They may also provide additional protection for the general public which may be impacted by a product even when they are not the direct purchaser or consumer of that product. For example, government regulations may require businesses to disclose detailed information about their products—particularly in areas where public health or safety is an issue, such as with food or automobiles.
The International Accreditation Forum, Inc. (IAF) is the worldwide association of conformity assessment accreditation bodies and other bodies interested in conformity assessment in the fields of management systems, products, services, personnel, processes, validation and verification and other similar programs of conformity assessment. Its primary function is to develop a single worldwide program of conformity assessment which reduces risk for businesses and their customers by assuring them that accredited certificates and validation and verification statements may be relied upon.
The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is the National Standards Body of India under Department of Consumer affairs, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Government of India. It is established by the Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 2016 which came into effect on 12 October 2017. The Minister in charge of the Ministry or Department having administrative control of the BIS is the ex-officio President of the BIS. BIS has 500 plus scientific officers working as Certification Officers, Member secretaries of technical committees and lab OIC's.
Motor vehicle type approval is the method by which motor vehicles, vehicle trailers and systems, components and separate technical units intended for such vehicles achieve type approval in the European Union (EU). There is no EU approval body: authorized approval bodies of member states are responsible for type approval, which will be accepted in all member states.
The Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) is a private organization that works as a "coalition of action" from the Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) and brings together retailers and brand owners (manufacturers) from across the CGF membership. The GFSI operates under multi-stakeholder governance, with the objective to create "an extended food safety community to oversee food safety standards for businesses and help provide access to safe food for people everywhere". GFSI's work in benchmarking and harmonization aims to foster mutual acceptance of GFSI-recognized certification programs across the industry, with the ambition to enable a "once certified, accepted everywhere" approach.
ECA is the main trade association for companies involved in electrotechnical and other technical engineering projects in England, Northern Ireland and Wales. In 2022 it had some 2600 registered members - companies who collectively generated annual revenues of over £6billion. ECA also has associate categories open to industry manufacturers, distributors, educators, clients and specifiers who wish to engage and collaborate with members.
Irish law allows firearm possession on may-issue basis. With approximately seven civilian firearms per 100 people, Ireland is the 107th most armed country in the world.
An Education and Training Board (ETB) is one of sixteen statutory local education bodies that deliver a wide range of education services in the Republic of Ireland. ETBs manage a large number of secondary schools, further education colleges and training centres, multi-faith primary schools and adult education centres throughout the country. They deliver a growing number of apprenticeships and traineeships across the State.
The Central Fund is the main accounting fund used by the government of Ireland. It is a bank account held at the Central Bank of Ireland, managed by the Minister for Finance as head of the Department of Finance. It is informally called the exchequer by analogy with the UK Exchequer.