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Checking samples
In May 2017, the CBRA received the first bales of cotton fiber to give origin to the rechecking samples to be used as official param-
eters in the laboratories that perform fiber analyses for cotton farmers. In all, 115 bales were acquired by the association in the states
of Bahia and Goiás. The rechecking samples produced at the CBRA are sent to the laboratories with the necessary and appropriate di-
mensions for the analysis, after being accurately checked by the HVI machines of the center. After being analyzed through the equip-
ment of the program’s laboratories, at a proportion of 1%of the analyses performed during the season, they will serve asmodels for
calibrating all the instruments that analyze the cotton of the farmers associated with the state entities that constitute the Abrapa.
According to the administrator of Abrapa’s Quality Program, Edson Mizoguchi, the laboratories should insert the rechecking
sample at every 100 bales that are analyzed. “The rates previously measured must be equal to the measures of the sample. If the
numbers do not match, there is something wrong with the instrument. Abrapa will have this information, notifying and guiding the
laboratories towards standardization”, he explains.
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Global acknowledgement
In January 2017, Abrapa started its efforts towards conquering the international certification for the CBRA. Representatives of
the entity attended a seminar organized by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) specifically for demonstrating to the Bra-
zilian participants the American model of classifying cotton, which was selected as reference for the Center. The workshop took
place in Memphis, in the United States.
Abrapa’s targets consist in gradually implementing the Quality Management System based on the NBR ISO/IEC 17.025. At the
same time, the entity has already started the preparation process for the international certification, which is awarded by ICA Bre-
men, FDA AMS and DIRAD-LTC. ICA Bremen was one of the institutions that lent its support to Abrapa towards the development
of its program ‘Standard Brasil HVI – SBRHVI’.
Since then, Abrapa has had a busy agenda of meetings, training sessions, workshops and visits to align procedures and get
acquainted with the process in pursuit of certification. The commitments on the agenda include a meeting with all representa-
tives of the CBRA and a workshop, scheduled for June, with a specialist from ICA Bremen, who will spend some days at the CBRA
for a deeper knowledge of the program.
Divulgação
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