Building Robust Methods for Complex Food Matrices

Developing a method that works reliably in a single laboratory under tightly controlled conditions is challenging enough, but translating that method into something that can be applied consistently across different facilities, countries, and regulatory environments is an order of magnitude more difficult. Natural biological variation in raw ingredients means that a threshold or marker that is diagnostic in one harvest or from one country of origin may not hold in another. The panel discuss the rigorous processes of method validation, inter-laboratory trials, and the development of certified reference materials that are necessary to build confidence in analytical results. They also consider the important role that organizations like AOAC INTERNATIONAL play in establishing standardized, internationally recognized methods, and why investment in this foundational work is critical to ensuring that authenticity testing has real-world impact rather than remaining confined to research publications.

Deborah McKenzie, Deputy Assistant Executive Director and Chief Standards Officer at AOAC INTERNATIONAL, USA, moderates this illuminating discussion with leading experts adept at using separation science in food authenticity and food fraud applications; Chris Elliott, Founder of the Institute for Global Food Security (IGFS) at Queen’s University Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK, and Professor of Food Security at Thammasat University, Thailand; Michele Suman, Food Safety & Authenticity Research Manager, Barilla Analytical Food Science, Italy, and Adjunct Professor of AgriFood Authenticity, Catholic University Sacred Heart; and Nicholas Birse, Lecturer in Mass Spectrometry, Queen’s University Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK and a Researcher at the Institute for Global Food Security (IGFS), Northern Ireland, UK.