April 20, 2010: AOAC INTERNATIONAL (AOAC) announces the availability of a draft revision of the AOAC INTERNATIONAL Methods Committee Guidelines for Validation of Microbiological Methods for Food and Environmental Surfaces The document is open for public comment.

As AOAC works to revise the guidelines to be more consistent with the needs of the regulators, method developers and the food safety community at-large, all stakeholders and those materially affected are encouraged to provide comments that would improve practicality and increase confidence in analytical results.

The current guidelines, published in 2002, were developed in collaboration with AOAC Organizational Affiliates, AOAC Research Institute Advisory Council, AOAC statistical advisors and AOAC Methods Committee on Microbiology. The Official Methods Board and Board of Directors approved the guidelines for publication which has served as the cornerstone of AOAC method validation for microbiology methodology. Members of the community are encouraged to submit comments on the revisions to the guidelines.

Comment Process

The public comment period opens on Tuesday, April 20, 2010 and closes Friday, May 21, 2010. Comments will be compiled and reviewed, and the document may be revised, if necessary, based on comments received. A final draft of the revised guidelines will be submitted to AOAC Methods Committee on Microbiology and subsequently the AOAC Official Methods Board.

AOAC requests that the following guidelines be observed in providing comments:

1. For specific comments, please state the line number and/or range of line numbers in each document for which the comment applies.



2. Provide rationale as to why the editor should consider the comment.



3. Please specify if the comment is an editorial, content, or disagreement comment.


a.  Editorial comments provide additional clarification or correct typographical errors.
     Please suggest alternative wording or typographical corrections.

b.  Content-related comments provide technical clarity and comprehensiveness. Please suggest the appropriate technical language.
     Documents will be reviewed by AOAC for technical accuracy and clarity.

c.  Disagreement comments reflect a perspective on content documented in the drafts or content not documented in the drafts.
     Please provide language that document the perspective or position.


4. All comments are due within 30 days of the initial posting date (deadline: May 21, 2010). The AOAC editorial team will address all questions and reserves the right to disregard comments received after the deadline.

 To provide comments to the draft revision of AOAC INTERNATIONAL Methods Committee Guidelines for
 Validation of Microbiological Methods for Food and Environmental Surfaces.

 for AOAC INTERNATIONAL Methods Committee Guidelines for Validation of Microbiological Methods for
 Food and Environmental Surfaces

 for AOAC INTERNATIONAL Methods Committee Guidelines for Validation of Microbiological Methods for
 Food and Environmental Surfaces (Tracked Changes)

For technical information on how to provide comments, contact Delia Boyd, AOAC Contract Programs Administrator, at dboyd@aoac.org or Tel: 301-924-7077 ext 126.

For general information, contact Dr. Sharon Brunelle, AOAC Technical Consultant, at sbrunelle@aoac.org.

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