The Analytical Solutions Forum is one of our newest initiatives of AOAC INTERNATIONAL in which global stakeholders from government, industry and academia convene to identify emerging needs for scientific analysis of food and other related products and to propose actions to address them. The theme for this year’s ASF was “Analytical Tools for Emerging Agricultural Products.”
The morning plenary session was highlighted by presentations on two focus areas within this theme: Botanicals and Herbal Supplements and Biostimulants. Presentations were provided by Michael McGuffin, President of the American Herbal Products Association and Dave Lanciault, President and CEO of Agricen. The subsequent breakout sessions for each of the focus areas then included a blend of presentations and open discussion to provide more depth on the challenges and the analytical needs to meet these challenges.
The Botanicals and Herbal Supplements breakout session was moderated by Darryl Sullivan, Chief Scientist, Eurofins Scientific with presentations provided by Joe Betz, Acting Director, Office of Dietary Supplements, NIH; Gisele Atkinson. Vice President, Quality and Technical Affairs, Council for Responsible Nutrition; and, Mohamed Koroma, Director of Analytical Services, Pharmavite. The Biostimulants breakout session was co-moderated by William Hall, N-P-K Consulting and Ed Thomas, Director of Regulatory Affairs, The Fertilizer Institute. Presentations were provided by Benoit Planques, Global Regulatory Manager, Italpollina; Carlos Reyes, Director of Agronomy, Koch Biological Solutions; and Toby Primbs, Oregon Dept. of Agriculture.
A recently appointed Steering Committee for the Analytical Solutions Forum will advise AOAC Deputy Executive Director & Chief Science Officer Palmer Orlandi on the potential for adequate stakeholder interest and support to move these and other focus areas forward as AOAC programs. Stay tuned and get involved in future meetings of the Analytical Solutions Forum.