After a consensus standard has been formally endorsed by NQF, any interested party may file an appeal of the endorsement decision with the NQF Board of Directors. An appeal may only be filed in response to NQF endorsement of a candidate standard or set of standards; that is, an interested party may not file an appeal regarding the decision to not endorse a candidate standard. An interested party may file a concern about any measure (whether endorsed or not endorsed) in the NQF consensus development process and this concern will be reviewed by the CSAC.
Content of an Appeal
An appeal of an endorsed standard must be filed within 30 days of the endorsement decision. For an appeal to be considered by NQF, the appeal must include written evidence that the appellant’s interests are directly and materially affected by the consensus standard or sets of standards recently endorsed by NQF, and that NQF’s endorsement of this standard has had, or will have, an adverse effect on those interests.
All appeals for endorsement are published on the NQF website.
Review of an Appeal
Appeals are compiled and the Consensus Standards Approval Committee (CSAC) reviews them and evaluates the scientific evidence available that is germane to the endorsed standard.
After discussions, the CSAC will make a recommendation to the NQF Board of Directors regarding the appeal. The Board of Directors will take action on an appeal within seven calendar days of its consultation with the CSAC.
Publication of Appeal Status
Each of the NQF Board of Directors’ actions regarding an appeal of endorsement is published on the NQF website, where they are available to all site visitors.
