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PRESENTERS:
OBJECTIVES
On Wednesday, March 16, 2016, the AOAC Research Institute held its Board of Directors meeting in
conjunction with the AOAC Mid-Year meeting and discussed the direction of ISPAM. The decision was
made to launch a working group to develop Standard Method Performance Requirements (SMPR®) for
the detection of food allergens, which would include test kit applications for ELISA, PCR or other
molecular based assays. AOAC held an Advisory Meeting comprised of food allergen thought leaders
and experts toadvise and guide AOAC on the priority allergens and gaps in needed methodology for
which ISPAM would develop voluntary consensus standards.
OUTCOMES
Introduction
AOAC INTERNATIONAL held an Advisory Panel meeting to discuss “Food Allergen” priorities on June 15,
2016. The AOAC International Stakeholder Panel on Alternative Methods (ISPAM) has undertaken the
initiative to develop Standard Method Performance Requirements (SMPRs®) for food allergen assays.
The working group is currently being formed and will officially launch in conjunction with the AOAC
Annual Meeting & Exposition meeting on Sunday, September 18, 2016 in Dallas, TX USA. Priorities from
this meeting will serve as the basis for the scope of the working group’s draft standard.
Crowley provided an overview of ISPAM and its accomplishments to date. Coates provided a brief
overview on the development of AOAC SMPRs®. Presentations were given by various panel members
representing government, industry, and academia. These thought leaders addressed the current state
of food allergen methodology, government regulations, progress on other international efforts, state of
available technology, and gaps in needed methodology. Schwartz also provided a summary of various
emerging technologies for the detection of food allergens.
Prioritization
Godefroy led the panel through a prioritization session that began with establishing criteria focused on
targets where there are differences or discrepancies in methodology. The panel focused on two primary
points of consideration for method needs: allergen targets and technologies. It was agreed that
matrices would not be addressed during this discussion. The considerations for criteria included cost,
time, and intersection of common food allergen regulations.
Scott Coates
AOAC INTERNATIONAL
Scott Radcliffe
Romer Labs
Erin Crowley
Q Laboratories, Inc.
Brooke Schwartz
Brooke Schwartz Consulting
Samuel Godefroy
Université Laval
Kristen Spotz
Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA)
Markus Lacorn
R-Biopharm
Jupiter Yeung
Nestlé
Gregory Noonan
US FDA
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