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MEMORANDUM
Date:
November 10, 2016
To:
AOAC INTERNATIONAL Official Methods Board
From:
Deborah McKenzie, Staff Liaison – AOAC Official Methods Board
Subject:
II‐c. Proposal for AOAC Experts in AOAC
AOAC
Performance Tested Methods
SM
Program
Background:
The AOAC Research Institute, a subsidiary of AOAC INTERNATIONAL, administers conformity
assessment programs, namely the
AOAC
Performance Tested Methods
SM
(PTM) Program and a
version of the AOAC
Official Methods of Analysis
SM
(OMA) Program, and the Consulting Service.
OMB is mostly familiar with the AOAC OMA program either through AOAC standards development
activities and associated expert review panels (ERPs). ERPs administered by the Research Institute
operate quite similarly to those associated with stakeholder panels, but for individually submitted
methods not in response to a call for methods. The Consulting Service is an auxiliary service in which
validation protocols are developed, reviewed, and approved that can be used in either the PTM
and/or OMA programs.
The PTM program can be either an entry program or an end point for commercial proprietary rapid
methods (test kits) and requires a full single laboratory validation along with an independent
verification study. The end result of going through the PTM process is a certification of the
method/test kit. Method developers are licensed to use the issued certification mark and a
certificate with a synopsis of the method validation is posted on the AOAC website under the
Research Institute and
PTM Validated Methods
tab.
A key component of the PTM program and the Consulting Service is the approval of validation
protocols and the peer review of the PTM validation manuscript. The approval of validation
protocols is the responsibility of the AOAC Expert, formerly known as the General Referee (GR). This
person is someone who is knowledgeable of the expectations of the OMA programs and validation
guidance and serves as a link between the programs. AOAC Experts are recruited for each area for
which methods are submitted for PTM review and certification.
Enclosures:
Credentials for two proposed AOAC Experts: one for seafood spoilage toxin methods and
one for fats and oils methods. Also attached is information about the Research Institute, the
programs, information on AOAC Experts.
Recommendation:
To approve Jeff van de Riet as an AOAC Expert for Seafood Toxins; and to
approve Michael Blumenthal as an AOAC Expert for Fats and Oils.
AOAC OMB Teleconference Materials
154
11/09/2016