The Analytical Laboratory Accreditation Criteria Committee (ALACC), chaired by M.L. Jane Weitzel of Watson Pharmaceuticals, has revised the “AOAC INTERNATIONAL Guidelines for Laboratories Performing Microbiological and Chemical Analyses of Food and Pharmaceuticals” (ALACC Guidelines), which was approved by the AOAC Board of Directors. The guidelines will be available to order by the end of March 2010.

“The consensus of many groups representing different sectors of the analytical community went into revising the ALACC Guidelines,” said Arlene Fox, AOAC senior director of proficiency testing. “We received a lot of diverse input from contract research organizations, plant laboratories, and assessors, among others.”

In revising the guidelines, ALACC followed an extensive review process involving its three subcommittees: Food Microbiology, chaired by Michele Smoot of Silliker Laboratories; Pharmaceutical, chaired by Nubia Viafara of the Cangene Corp., and Food Chemistry, chaired by Sue Lee of rtech laboratories. The review incorporates improvements and clarifications identified by users of the guidelines and includes revisions such as combining and updating tables to clearly define the calibration and verification requirements for laboratory instrumentation; clarifying Section 5.9 (Ensuring the Quality of Test and Calibration Results); defining the extent of documentation required when a test method is performed; and ensuring that new techniques and computer capabilities are adequately covered.

“Many thanks to the ALACC members and subcommittees, whose dedication, support, and diligence throughout the revision process has made the guidelines stronger and more useful for laboratories,” Weitzel said.

For more information, contact Arlene Fox, AOAC senior director of proficiency testing, at afox@aoac.org. Full coverage is scheduled for the January/February issue of Inside Laboratory Management.

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