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AOAC and its industry partners are leading the effort to develop voluntary consensus standards that are globally recognized and accepted. In the food industry, regulations and practices vary worldwide leading to a lack of internationally accepted, fit-for-purpose methods. Established by AOAC to better meet industry partners’ needs, the Stakeholder Panel on Strategic Foods Analytical Methods (SPSFAM) is driven by multinational food companies who are AOAC Organizational Affiliates (OAs) and focuses on issues or topics of interest to the stakeholders related to food, or strategic growth of the food industry. AOAC’s industry partners expressed needs for consensus-based standard method performance requirements (SMPRs) and standardized methods that are recognized and used worldwide. Consensus was reached on September 16, 2011, by about 50 key experts from multinational food companies, government, contract research organizations, and academia, among others. International representation is critical in ensuring that methods are accepted worldwide and meet regulatory testing requirements. SPSFAM, chaired by Arti Arora of The Coca-Cola Co. and Lou Anne Blanchard of Kraft Foods, approved fitness-for purpose statements for the priority areas of antioxidants and flavanoids in foods and SMPRs for antioxidants. For ingredients and surveillance methods for food/food ingredients authenticity and conformity, SPSFAM is examining work already done for AOAC’s infant formula initiative and current work being done on spectral fingerprinting databases, respectively, for applicability to the AOAC food industry initiative. For fitness-for-purpose for antioxidants, SPSFAM agreed that in vitro methods must be able to determine total hydrophilic and lipophilic antioxidant activity in foods, beverages, food ingredients, and dietary supplements. Individual methods may, but are not required to, quantify specific antioxidants in addition to measuring the total antioxidant activity. Acceptable methods must be able to demonstrate a limit of quantitation (LOQ) of ≤400 μmol trolox equivalents per 100 g with an analytical range of 400 to 400,000 μmol trolox equivalents per 100 g. As recommended by the Working Group on Antioxidants, chaired by John Szpylka, General/Mills Medallion Laboratories, SPSFAM also approved SMPRs against which methods can be evaluated. SPSFAM agreed on performance parameters, including analytical range, limit of detection, limit of quantitation, repeatability, recovery factor, and reproducibility. For flavanoids, SPSFAM agreed that prospective methods must be able to determine flavanols in beverages, foods, ingredients, and dietary supplements. Candidate methods must measure and quantify flavanol monomers by LC with an appropriate chosen detector at a range appropriate for the matrixes chosen (foods, ingredients, beverages, and dietary supplements products) in all forms of test samples appropriate to the method. The Working Group on Flavanoids, chaired by Brian Schaneberg of Mars Botanical, is currently finalizing the list of food and ingredients (matrixes) of interest. In addition, SPSFAM approved the recommendation of the Ingredients Working Group, chaired by John Austad of Covance Laboratories, to focus on the priority areas of premixes, preblends, and pure materials. As part of the working group’s efforts, SMPRs developed for AOAC’s infant formula initiative (vitamins A, D, and E) are being reviewed for possible applicability to food nutrition. SPSFAM also agreed that vitamin K should be included in the group of nutrients to be examined. The Ingredients Working Group is developing fitness-for-purpose and SMPRs for vitamin K, which will be reviewed by SPSFAM. Finally, as approved by SPSFAM, the Working Group on Surveillance Methods for Food/Food Ingredients Authenticity and Conformity (formerly Contaminants), chaired by Blanchard, is focusing on (1) defining guidelines for nontargeted analysis to determine degrees of difference; (2) identifying and prioritize food ingredients; (3) agreeing on common procedures to measure to the degree of conformity and/or nonconformity; and (4) considering identifying, reviewing, and agreeing on data collected, for example, spectral images of normal, commonly used food ingredients. The data could be compared to new lots/batches to determine abnormalities. In November 2011, with fitness-for-purpose statements approved at the Annual Meeting, AOAC issued a call for methods for antioxidants and flavanoids in foods, beverages, food ingredients, and dietary supplements. In addition, SMPRs for antioxidants were posted for public comment in October 2011. The next SPSFAM meeting is scheduled for March 21-22, 2012, during the AOAC Mid-Year Meeting. The Working Group on Surveillance Methods will continue to work toward consensus on developing voluntary consensus standards that are globally recognized for food/food ingredients authenticity and conformity. Expert review panels (ERPs) are tentatively scheduled to be held for antioxidants, flavanoids, and ingredients. In addition, SPSFAM will launch a new priority area--packaging migrants—as identified by the SPSFAM advisory panel. Full coverage is scheduled for the November/December 2011 issue of Inside Laboratory Management. For more information on SPSFAM, of if you would like to participate, visit http://www.aoac.org/SPSFAM/spsfam.htm or contact Dawn Frazier, executive for scientific business development, at dfrazier@aoac.org.
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