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MEMORANDUM
Date:
To:
From:
Subject:
February 10, 2016
AOAC INTERNATIONAL Official Methods Board
Scott Coates, AOAC Chief Scientific Officer
Item II.a. Updating Method Format
BACKGROUND:
The idea of linking or incorporating the minimum performance requirements from relevant Standard
Method Performance Requirements has been discussed in committees and panels for about 2 years. All
parties agreed with the general concept but general concept has not been implemented. This proposal
contains the details for implementation and an extension of the concept. The original idea was to
simply incorporate the minimum performance requirements into Official Methods of Analysis. The new
concept in this proposal incorporates a reporting feature. All accredited laboratories are required to
verify the performance of analytical methods in their laboratory. The new concept is to use the
minimum performance requirements as the acceptance criteria for verification, and even more, to
create an anonymous automated reporting system to capture verification data. It is proposed that the
method author and relevant expert review panel would have access to the verification data.
Presumably, after two years there should be real on‐site performance data for the method that could be
used to determine Final Action status. The automated data collection system also could be used to
verify matrix extensions. The concept was informally discussed with individual BoD members during the
December Board meeting and BoD members unanimous supported the concept.
Several examples are attached.
1. Section A contains the proposed addition to the method format.
a. The concept provides very clear verification acceptance criteria.
AOAC OMB Meeting
February 10-11, 2016
44