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Standards News

(Reflects new and ongoing standards activities as of October 1, 2012)

AOAC Standards Development Program
AOAC INTERNATIONAL voluntary consensus standards are developed in accordance with the U.S. National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act (PL 104-113) and U.S. Office of Management and Budget Circular A-119. Standards activities are fully transparent and open. The Official Methods Board accounts for balance and lack of dominance. Consensus is documented and processes are in place to ensure due process and the opportunity to present appeals. Resulting AOAC standards are published.

Official Methods^SM Program
In spring 2011, the AOAC INTERNATIONAL Board of Directors approved a new path to Official First Action method status. This dynamic aligned approach incorporates AOAC standards development as an integral part of AOAC Official Methods^SM output. In the new path, expert review panels (ERPs) adopt methods as Official First Action, and remain intact to monitor the methods during the 2 year period between First and Final Action consideration. During this time, ERPs assess the performance of methods against the standards as adequate method reproducibility and other ERP- and stakeholder-based method criteria are demonstrated. ERPs must make a recommendation on method status to the Official Methods Board no later than 2 years after First Action status. The Official Methods Board will determine Final Action method status.

The AOAC Official Methods^SM Program is designed to provide needed evaluated methods that can be used with confidence by regulated industry, regulatory agencies, contract research organizations and testing laboratories, and academic institutions. Official Methods^SM undergo rigorous scientific scrutiny and demonstrate the highest level of confidence in a method.

Official Methods^SM are published in the Official Methods of Analysis of AOAC INTERNATIONAL and supporting manuscripts are published in the Journal of AOAC INTERNATIONAL.

Official Actions and Changes in Status
Changes to standards and Official Methods^SM are documented. Notice of standards activities and changes in Official MethodsSM status are listed.

Any interested party may submit comments in writing. To comment, or for additional information, contact Deborah McKenzie, senior director, standards development, AOAC INTERNATIONAL, 481 N. Frederick Ave, Suite 500, Gaithersburg, MD 20877-2417, USA, Tel: +1-301-924-7077 ext. 157, Fax: +1-301-924-7089, e-mail: dmckenzie@aoac.org.

AOAC Standards in Progress

Standards in Development

[Working groups formed to draft proposed standards or standard method performance requirements (SMPRs), including minimum performance criteria that methods must meet or exceed, after and on which stakeholder panels will deliberate and reach consensus.]

Stakeholder Panel on Agent Detection Assays (SPADA)
Working Group on Variola: SMPRs for Variola

Stakeholder Panel on Strategic Food Analytical Methods (SPSFAM)
Working Group for Priority Response for Food Safety

Standards in Comment

[Proposed standards or minimum performance criteria, with first round approval by stakeholder panels, posted on the AOAC Web site for stakeholder comment.]

Standards in Review

[Proposed standards or minimum performance criteria that have completed comment period.]
Draft Guidelines for Validation of Qualitative Chemistry Methods

Standards Approved

[Voluntary consensus standards established and approved by stakeholders. Standards are in publication by AOAC.]

AOAC SMPR 2012.001 Standard Method Performance Requirements for Flavanols in Tea, Wine, Fruit and Fruit Juices, Cocoa Powder, Chocolate, Spices, and/or Herbs

AOAC SMPR 2012.002 Standard Method Performance Requirements for Whey/Casein Protein Ratio in Infant Formula

AOAC SMPR 2012.003 Standard Method Performance Requirements for Vitamin A in Preblends, Premixes, and Pure Materials

AOAC SMPR 2012.004 Standard Method Performance Requirements for Vitamin D in Preblends, Premixes, and Pure Materials

AOAC SMPR 2012.005 Standard Method Performance Requirements for Vitamin E in Preblends, Premixes, and Pure Materials

AOAC SMPR 2012.006 Standard Method Performance Requirements for Vitamin K in Preblends, Premixes, and Pure Materials

AOAC SMPR 2012.007 Standard Method Performance Requirements for Heavy Metals in a Variety of Foods Such as Rice and/or Rice Products, Chocolate Products, Fruit Juice and/or Fruit Concentrates, and Infant Formula

AOAC SMPR 2012.008 Standard Method Performance Requirements for Iodine in Infant Formula and Adult/Pediatric Nutritional Formula

AOAC SMPR 2012.009 Standard Method Performance Requirements for Pantothenic Acid in Infant Formula and Adult/Pediatric Nutritional Formula

AOAC SMPR 2012.010 Standard Method Performance Requirements for L-Carnitine in Infant Formula and Adult/Pediatric Nutritional Formula

AOAC SMPR 2012.011 Standard Method Performance Requirements Fatty Acids, Including LCPUFAs, in Infant Formula and Adult/Pediatric Nutritional Formula

AOAC SMPR 2012.012 Standard Method Performance Requirements Vitamin C in Infant Formula and Adult/Pediatric Nutritional Formula

AOAC SMPR 2012.013 Standard Method Performance Requirements Total Choline in Infant Formula and Adult Pediatric Nutritional Formula

Methods Adopted as First Action Official Methods^SM

[Fit-for-purpose methods reviewed and approved by an AOAC expert review panel or method committee based on evaluation against standard method performance requirements or studies conducted. Methods are in publication by AOAC.]

2011.06 Total Folates in Infant Formula and Adult/Pediatric Nutritional Formula by Trienzyme Extraction and UPLC-MS/MS Quantitation

2012.02 VITEK® 2 Gram-Positive (GP) Biochemical Identification Method
Reference: J. AOAC Int. 95, 1427(2012)

2012.03 Analytical Parameters of the Microplate-Based ORAC Pyrogallol Red Assay
Reference: J. AOAC Int. 94, 1562(2011)

2012.04 Antioxidant Activity in Foods and Beverages by Reaction with 2,2’-Diphenyl-1-Picrylhadrazyl (DPPH)

2012.05 Bacillus anthracis Spores on Filters and in Liquid Suspensions Derived from Surface Swabbings, National Guard Bureau Triple Signature QFlow-JBAIDS Polymerase Chain Reaction Method

2012.06 RAZORTM EX Anthrax Air Detection System

2012.07 Whey Protein in Milk-Based Infant Formula

2012.08 Whey Protein Content in Milk-Based Infant Formula Finished Products Using Amino Acids Calculation Method

2012.09 Vitamins A and E in Infant Formula and Adult/Pediatric Nutritional Formula

2012.10 Simultaneous Determination of Vitamins A and E in Infant Formula and Adult/Pediatric Nutritional Formula by Normal-Phase HPLC

2012.11 Simultaneous Determination of Vitamins D2 and D3 in Infant Formula and Adult/Pediatric Nutritional Formula by LC-MS/MS

2012.12 Analysis of Free and Total Myo-Inositol in Infant Formula and Adult/Pediatric Nutritional Formula by HPAEC-PAD, Including a Novel Total Extraction Using Microwave-Assisted Acid Hydrolysis and Enzymatic Treatment

2012.13 Milk Products and Infant Formulae: Determination of Labeled Fatty Acids Content, Capillary Gas Chromatographic Method

2012.14 Total Iodine in Infant Formula and Nutritional Products by Inductively Coupled Plasma/Mass Spectrometry
Reference: J. AOAC Int. 95, 169(2012)

2012.15 Total Iodine in Infant Formula and Adult/Pediatric Nutritional Formula Using Inductively Coupled Plasma–Mass Spectrometry
Reference: J. AOAC Int. 95, 195(2012)

2012.16 Pantothenic Acid (Vitamin B5) in Infant Formula and Adult/Pediatric Nutritional Formula
Reference: J. AOAC Int. 95, 143(2012)

2012.17 Free and Total Carnitine in Infant Formula and Adult/Pediatric Nutritional Formula by Liquid Chromatography/Tandem Mass Spectrometry

2012.18 Choline in Infant Formula and Adult/Pediatric Nutritional Formula by UPLC-MS/MS

2012.19 Total and Free Choline in Infant Formula and Adult/Pediatric Nutritional Formula by LC-MS/MS

2012.20 Choline in Infant Formula and Adult Nutritionals by Ion Chromatography and Suppressed Conductivity

2012.21 Vitamin C in Infant Formula and Adult/Pediatric Nutritional Formula by HPLC with UV Detection

2012.22 Vitamin C in Infant Formula and Adult/Pediatric Nutritional Formula by UPLC-UV

2012.23 Development and Validation of an Improved Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity Assay Using Fluorescein as the Fluorescent Probe

2012.24 Flavanol and Procyanidin (by Degree of Polymerization 1-10) Content of Chocolate, Cocoa Liquors, Powder(s), and Cocoa Flavanol Extracts by Normal-Phase High-Performance Liquid Chromatography

2012.25 Three Triphenylmethane Dyes Residues and Their Metabolites (Malachite Green, Leuco Malachite Green, Crystal Violet, Leuco Crystal Violet, Brilliant Green) in Aquaculture Products by LC-MS/MS

2012.26 Arsenic, Cadmium, Mercury, and Lead in Foods by ICP/MS After Pressure Digestion

Recommended Candidate Dispute Resolution Methods

[For the Stakeholder Panel on Infant Formula and Adult Nutritionals (SPIFAN) initiative, these methods were recommended by an AOAC expert review panel (ERP) as candidate dispute resolution methods. These methods were previously approved by an AOAC ERP as First Action Official Methods^SM.]

2011.18 Myo-Inositol (Free and Bound as Phosphatidylinositol) in Infant Formula and Adult/Pediatric Nutritional Formula by HPLC Column Switching and Pulsed Amperometry

2011.19 Measurement of Chromium, Selenium, and Molybdenum in Infant Formula and Adult/Pediatric Nutritional Formula by ICP-MS

2011.20 Analysis of 5'-Mononucleotides in Infant Formula and Adult/Pediatric Nutritional Formula by Liquid Chromatography

Methods Recommended for Final Action

(The following First Action Official MethodsSM were recommended for Final Action status. The Official Methods Board will vote on approval of a status change for these methods.)

996.06 Fat (Total, Saturated, and Unsaturated) in Foods, Hydrolytic Extraction Gas Chromatographic Method
First Action 1996, Revised First Action 2001
Reference: J. AOAC Int. 80, 555(1997); 82, 1146(1999)

Methods Approved for Final Action

(The Official Methods Board approved a status change for the following methods based on acceptable method performance.)

2011.23 Determination and Confirmation of Parent and Total Ractopamine in Bovine, Swine, and Turkey Tissues by Liquid Chromatography with Tandem Mass Spectroscopy
Reference: J. AOAC Int. 95, 1236(2012)

2011.24 Determination and Confirmation of Narasin and Monensin in Bovine, Swine, and Chicken Tissues by Liquid Chromatography with Tandem Mass Spectroscopy
Reference: J. AOAC Int. 95, 959(2012)