Food & nutrition

News and Updates

NIST Releases Reference Material to Aid Gut Microbiome Research

March 17, 2025

Researchers hope this material will help usher in a new era of diagnostics and treatments involving the gut microbiome.

Ileana Pazos sits and smiles for a photo next to scientific equipment. She's holding tweezers next to the machine.

Spotlight: Research Chemist Ileana Pazos’ Radiant Role in Longer-Lasting, Safer Imported Foods

March 24, 2023

Fruits and vegetables brought in from outside the country first require health and foodborne pathogen inspections. NIST research chemist Ileana Pazos helps the

Picture of jars containing reference materials 8256, 8257, 8258, and 8259: Wild caught and aquacultured shrimp and salmon

Four NIST Reference Materials Help Authenticate Shrimp and Salmon

July 28, 2022

Four reference materials from NIST will help the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Customs and Border Protection agencies assess whether imported salmon and

Blog Posts

Miral Dizdaroglu wears safety glasses as he poses in the lab next to an open spectrometer, which looks a little like a microwave with extra buttons.

How We Studied DNA Damage in Cooked Food — and What It Might Mean for Our Health

Organic, Vegetarian or Carnivore: Whatever You Eat, My Lab Is Working to Keep It Safe

Going Nuts over NIST’s Standard Reference Peanut Butter

Projects and Programs

Cell Counting for Cell Therapies

Ongoing

Recent Publications and Resources for Cell Counting and Related Measurements Tools NOW AVAILABLE : COMET (Counting Method Evaluation Tool) , A Shiny Application that executes the statistical analysis and reporting outlined in ISO 20391-2:2019 https://cell-counting.shinyapps.io/COMET/ Standards ISO

Classification Methods for the NIST Biorepository

Ongoing

NIST has been archiving biological and environmental specimens, including marine animal and environmental samples, for over 40 years. Currently, these biospecimens are stored at cryogenic temperatures in the NIST Biorepository located at the Hollings Marine Laboratory in Charleston, SC. Various

Development of Methods for Measurement of Vitamin D and its Metabolites in Foods, Fortified Foods, and Dietary Supplements

Ongoing

Vitamin D exists in two forms: vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) and vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol). Vitamin D3 is produced in the body after sun exposure and is also the form used in most fortified foods. Dietary supplements may contain either vitamin D2 or D3. Measurement of vitamin D in foods and dietary

Dietary Supplement Laboratory Quality Assurance Program (DSQAP)

Ongoing

Approximately 75% of the U.S. population takes dietary supplements, including vitamins and mineral supplements, representing an annual expenditure of more than $20 billion. Regulations, driven by reported cases of inaccurate labeling, adulteration, contamination (with pesticides, heavy metals, or

Publications

Certification of Standard Reference Material® 1568c Rice Flour

January 15, 2026

Author(s)

Laura Wood, Charles Barber, Colleen Bryan Sallee, Monique Johnson, Shaun Kotoski, Stephen Long, Tomohiro Narukawa, Rick Paul, Nicholas Sharp, John Sieber, Maria Isabel Vega Martinez, James Yen, Lee Yu

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) SRM 1568c Rice Flour has value assignments for over 30 analytes, including arsenic species. This

Dietary Supplement Laboratory Quality Assurance Program: Exercise 3 Final Report

September 4, 2025

Author(s)

Jenna Klingsick, Hugh Hayes, Elena Wood

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Dietary Supplement Laboratory Quality Assurance Program (DSQAP) was launched in 2007 as a

Food Nutrition and Safety Measurements Quality Assurance Program: Exercise 3 Final Report (INCLUDES UPDATES AS OF 01-28-2025)

January 28, 2025

Author(s)

Melissa Phillips, Colleen Bryan Sallee, Jacolin Murray, Benjamin Place, Alix Rodowa

Dietary Supplement Laboratory Quality Assurance Program: Exercise 2 Final Report

January 24, 2025

Author(s)

Hugh Hayes, Jenna Klingsick, Colleen Bryan Sallee, Sanem Hosbas Coskun

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Dietary Supplement Laboratory Quality Assurance Program (DSQAP) was launched in 2007 in part as a