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Increasing Laboratory Capacity in Support of Regulation and Trade AOAC is exploring a global strategy to support food regulation and trade through third-party testing. Based on input from a presidential summit meeting earlier this year, AOAC developed in March 2009 a position paper, “The Use of Private Sector Laboratories to Bolster Regulatory Agency Testing Capacity,” advocating solutions for increasing laboratory food testing capacity in the United States. “AOAC can help FDA improve laboratory capacity to perform more testing,” said AOAC executive director James Bradford. “AOAC has a network of 400 laboratories and 3000 volunteers to assist in method development, validation, and use.” In the position paper, AOAC recommends that FDA, in response to some new legislation spurred by recent high-profile food safety issues, participate with the private sector in establishing standards of performance for third-party testing and inspections. The paper outlines minimum requirements for non-FDA laboratories to provide increased testing in support of regulatory compliance. These requirements (in the form of articles of warrant simulating traditional town hall meetings) address accreditation, training, sampling, methodology, proficiency testing, and reporting data. The requirements were developed on February 17, 2009, during a presidential summit meeting at AOAC headquarters in Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA, by about 40 Organizational Affiliates (OAs), representing the food testing arena and including instrument and test kit manufacturers and contract research organizations. Endorsement from AOAC’s membership lends credence to the Association’s effort to help increase FDA’s laboratory testing capacity. The position paper will be distributed to legislative and regulatory bodies regarding increasing laboratory food testing capacity in the United States. The recommendations can serve as minimum voluntary consensus standards for the performance of laboratories providing testing in support of regulatory activity. Full coverage is included in the May/June issue of Inside Laboratory Management.
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