Activities
AOAC International's technical contributions center on the creation, validation, and global publication of reliable analytical test methods, primarily to evaluate the safety of foods, beverages, dietary supplements, and similar materials consumed by humans and animals, or to evaluate purity of materials used in production of foodstuffs and their ingredients. These test methods are of two broad categories: chemical tests (e.g., for vitamins or pesticides) and microbiological tests (e.g., for spoilage agents or biological threat agents). Before a given method can be approved as an AOAC official method, it is generally tested in 8-10 laboratories in what is called a "Collaborative Study", and the findings are often published on the Journal of AOAC Internationals. If the OMB (Official Methods Board) approves the recommendation of the Study Director and Committee Chair and approves the method for official status (an official method of analysis) then it is given "First Action" approval. During this time, members can comment of the method and provide feedback of issues or other comments regarding the method. After a year, the OMB can grant "Final Action" status to a method where there has been no feedback serious enough to warrant further investigation. These methods are recognized as official methods by the FDA and other agencies. Members gain free access to the OMA via the web. You can save any method or section as a PDF file for use offline or to print.
Possibly their most visible activity is to be official source for nutrition labeling analysis.
AOAC International has 10 North American sections, organized geographically, as well as 7 geographic sections in the rest of the world. AOAC International conducts one general meeting annually, which has always fallen in the same week in September for years. The meetings are moved around the United States and held in major cities. Moving the annual meeting to various regions benefits members that are not able to travel distances. It also helps share the cost of travel as some years a member has less travel expenses and a subsequent year the cost is higher.
Recently, the AOAC website and organization have undergone substantial changes. For members that have not stayed current in how the OMA process and organization structure are laid out, it would be prudent to visit the website and get updated on the new changes.
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