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Industry Developing Voluntary Consensus Standards for New and Modern Methods
The AOAC INTERNATIONAL Mid-Year Meeting is a valuable opportunity to advance the work of AOAC’s stakeholder panels. Major outcomes of the 2012 meeting included the adoption of Official MethodsSM for antioxidants in food, approval of standard method performance requirements (SMPRs) for flavanols in foods, and working group approval of chemistry method validation guidelines for alternative methods (with editorial revisions and clarifications). For biothreat detection, the Working Group on Variola, chaired by Inger Damon (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and Ted Hadfield (MRIGlobal), meeting for the first time during the Mid-Year Meeting, examined issues and the different considerations between developing panels for variola and the biothreat agents for which the AOAC Stakeholder Panel on Agent Detection Assays (SPADA) has already developed standards. In addition, SPADA was provided with an overview on a responder survey activity, spearheaded by Edgewood Chemical Biological Center (ECBC). The survey aims to discover the kinds of technology first responders are using in an effort to enable effective biosurveillance and CBRNE response strategies. The CBRNE Responder Survey is currently in development and is intended to reach diverse groups of responders across the country to collect data on equipment, training, emergency preparedness, and standards. More than 160 participants from around the world attended the second annual AOAC INTERNATIONAL Mid-Year Meeting held on March 20–22, 2012, in Rockville, Maryland, USA. The event was designed to empower industry (food companies, instrument manufacturers, test kit companies) and those directly involved in food, alternative method testing, and biothreat detection by giving them a collective and powerful voice to drive priorities and develop voluntary consensus standards that are globally recognized. Technical sessions featured working groups, an expert review panel (ERP), and stakeholder panels related to food, alternative methods testing, and biothreat detection. Highly focused discussions and presentations provided attendees with an overview on processes, mission and accomplishments, unique analytical challenges, and timelines, with the goal of engaging broader international communities in future AOAC activities.
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