Good Laboratory Practice (GLP)

In order to be internationally accepted and suitable for (regulatory) safety assessments, studies must meet two requirements: They must be carried out according to the OECD Test Guidelines and follow the OECD Principles of Good Laboratory Practice (GLP).

Good Laboratory Practice is a quality control system for non-clinical safety assessments in the fields of environment and health. The principles are designed to ensure that the tests – the findings of which might result in legal consequences – are forgery-proof and comprehensible. The focus is on conditions and organisational processes (planning, implementation and monitoring) of non-clinical tests, on recording and archiving both tests and their findings, and on reporting. GLP also places great importance on making all practices and decisions transparent. Test plans, protocols and results and all other documents of a study are therefore stored under seal for 15 years. In Germany, the OECD-Principles of Good Laboratory Practice are laid down in the Act on the Protection against Dangerous Substances (Chemicals Act, ChemG).