Reduce Risk Exposure to Your Brand

Products are continually questioned with regard to their safety, potency, and label claims. Inferior and contaminated products are the cause of many of industry’s problems. They impede the growth of business, undermine profitability, invite media scrutiny, and increase regulation by the government. The risk exposure to a company’s brand ultimately costs everyone money.

AOAC’s stakeholder, consensus-based validated methods through the AOAC^® Performance-Tested^SM and Official Methods^SM Programs are the sound, science-based solution to restoring public trust in a company’s products and controlling risk exposure to a company’s brand and business.

For example, when controversy arose in India over pesticides in soft drinks, AOAC Organizational Affiliate (OA) companies turned to the Association to help opposing sides resolve the complex issues, which included lack of standard analytical methodology, politics, and international trade. AOAC provided a science-based solution to the problem by bringing representatives from the Indian ministries, together with other major stakeholders, to develop, evaluate, and validate a consensus-based analytical method for the detection of pesticide residues in soft drinks through the AOAC^® Official Methods^SM Program.

Similarly, AOAC could provide a science-based solution for you when the need arises.

Expand Your Business

If you are a contract laboratory, AOAC expands your business through networking opportunities and through the recognition of being a laboratory that participates in AOAC validation studies and uses proven AOAC^® Official Methods^SM. This gives a contract laboratory the recognition it needs to obtain clients who recognize and want laboratories to be familiar with and use AOAC validated methods. Recognition is also given when the laboratory’s name appears in a published validation study as a lead or participating laboratory in AOAC’s renowned Journal of AOAC INTERNATIONAL.

Whether you are a test kit company or instrument manufacturer, AOAC expands your business by giving you a chance to participate in high-level decision making stakeholder meetings where consensus agreement is reached on the performance characteristics of the assays needed. You are part of the decision-making and a solution to a need for validated methods, and the meetings are networking opportunities that expand your business.

Once a test kit or instrument manufacturer’s product becomes validated according to the specified criteria, the stakeholders participating in the program and potential customers will have confidence in the product and will most likely choose it over another product.

Test kit and instrument manufacturers will also receive the AOAC^® Performance-Tested^SM and/or Official Method^SM designation that is recognized around the world. In fact, many AOAC^® Official Methods^SM have been accepted by the Codex Alimentarius Commission and are specifically required in the enforcement of some state, provincial, municipal, and local laws and many federal standards worldwide.

Whether you are a contract laboratory, or test kit or instrument manufacturer, you can participate in invitation-only meetings where you can interact with potential customers and their respective customers.

Reap the Benefits of an Independent Third-Party Organization

AOAC is a 501(c)(3), not-for-profit qualified, independent, third-party organization. OA companies may consult their tax advisor on the deductibility of their contribution to AOAC.

Be Part of AOAC’s Leadership Circle

As an OA, you become an active participant in guiding and setting the strategic direction and priorities of the Association.

OAs are invited to participate in high-level, invitation-only meetings and discussions regarding global key topic areas where analytical methods and quality measurement tools are needed. These critical decision-making meetings are conducted with government and industry representatives present and are designed to initiate collaborations between the key stakeholders (suppliers, manufacturers, trade associations, retailers, test kit manufacturers, government, and others) in establishing a plan for analytical solutions in the areas of interest to the OAs.

Other Benefits

Individual member representatives from the member organization are entitled to all of the benefits of individual membership, including access to the Official Methods of Analysis (OMA) Online (up to 25 nonmember OMA Online user licenses), professional development and recognition, networking opportunities, member discounts on AOAC products and services, and a subscription to Inside Laboratory Management.

About AOAC INTERNATIONAL

AOAC INTERNATIONAL is a globally recognized, 501(c)(3), independent, not-for-profit Association founded in 1884 to facilitate the resolution of trade disputes. AOAC provides science-based solutions to analytical problems by bringing together industries that have a need for validated methods with industries that provide the solutions through their products (rapid assays, and instrumentation) and services (contract laboratories). AOAC brings together government, industry, and other relevant stakeholders worldwide to reach consensus on method performance criteria, thus ensuring the methods that are needed are fit-for-purpose. This provides the buy-in and acceptance of decisions by the stakeholders.

Methods are evaluated and validated against the consensus performance requirements and acceptance criteria established and articulated by the stakeholders and meet the requirements of the AOAC^® Performance-Tested^SM and/or Official Methods^SM programs.

AOAC methods give defensibility, credibility, and confidence in decision-making because the performance and acceptance requirements are science-based. AOAC uses its expert volunteer networks to help guide stakeholders on validation study requirements and to make sure that the analytical results are based on science. To increase confidence in analytical results, AOAC provides other tools, including analyst training and proficiency testing, to assess user competence in conducting the methods.

For more information or if you would like to join as an OA, contact Anita Mishra, AOAC Executive for Scientific Business Development, at Tel: +1-301-924-7077 x131 or amishra@aoac.org.