Food Nutrition and Safety Measurements Quality Assurance Program (FNSQAP)

Summary

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) established a Food Nutrition and Safety Measurements Quality Assurance Program (FNSQAP) to support the measurement needs of the food communities. The FNSQAP provides an opportunity for food testing laboratories to improve comparability of their measurements, as well as for NIST to assess community needs for reference materials, workshops, and other measurement services.

Description

Credit: Canva stock

As part of a revamp of QAPs in 2021, NIST established the FNSQAP to support the NIST Food Safety Program and Measurements and Standards to Support Nutrition Labeling. Participants measure nutrient components (e.g., minerals, vitamins, fatty acids, dietary fiber) and contaminants (e.g., toxic elements, pesticide residues) in food samples, including infant formula, distributed by NIST. FNSQAP is designed to assist laboratories in the development and validation of new analytical methods, in improving the quality of their analytical measurements, and in supporting compliance with a number of federal regulations enforced by the US FDA, USDA, and other international bodies. Participant data is compiled at NIST and analyzed for accuracy, precision, and concordance within the community. Reports and certificates of completion are sent to participants, and workshops with participating laboratories may be held following future studies. Future FNSQAP studies may address additional food safety areas such as authenticity, protein food allergens, and microbial contaminants, as needs are identified. Please send suggestions for studies or requests for more information regarding FNSQAP and other NIST QAPs to QAPHUB [at] nist.gov (QAPHUB[at]nist[dot]gov).

 

UPCOMING EXERCISES

Exercise 4

Study	Measurands and Samples
Toxic Elements	As, Cd, Hg, Pb, and Tl in kale powder and kale/beet powder

Exercise 4 Invitation Letter

Exercise 4 Shipping Letter

Major Accomplishments

Specific sample/analyte combinations included in each FNSQAP exercise, as well as links to final reports, are summarized in the tables below.

Exercise 1

Study	Measurands and Samples
Nutritional Elements	Ca, Na, Fe, and K in infant formulas
Toxic Elements	As, Cd, Pb, and Hg in baby foods
Water-Soluble Vitamins	Folic acid in infant formulas
Fat-Soluble Vitamins	Vitamin K in infant formulas
Contaminants I	Acrylamide in chocolate and coffee
Contaminants II	Glyphosate in foods

Exercise 1 Final Report

Exercise 2

Study	Measurands and Samples
Nutritional Elements	Cr, Mo, and Se in infant formulas
Toxic Elements	Cd and Pb in chocolate materials
Water-Soluble Vitamins	Choline and carnitine in infant formulas
Fat-Soluble Vitamins	Carotenoids in infant formulas
Fatty Acids	DHA and ARA in infant formulas
Contaminants I	Glyphosate in turmeric and cat food
Contaminants II	Phthalates in infant formula and cheese

Exercise 2 Final Report

Exercise 3 

Study	Measurands and Samples
Nutritional Elements	Cu, Mg, and P in infant formulas
Water-Soluble Vitamins	Vitamin B12 in infant formulas
Fat-Soluble Vitamins	Vitamin A in infant formulas
Contaminants I	PFAS in meat, milk, and egg
Contaminants II	Pesticides in spinach

Exercise 3 Final Report

Associated Publications

1. Jahrman, E. P., Yu, L. L., Krekelberg, W. P., Sheen, D. A., Allison, T. C., and Molloy, J. L., "Assessing arsenic species in foods using regularized linear regression of the arsenic K-edge X-ray absorption near edge structure," Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry, 37, 1247-1258 (2022). 

2. Cruz, M. B., Place, B. J., Wood, L. J., Urbas, A., Wasik, A., and Rocha, W. F. D., "A nontargeted approach to determine the authenticity ofGinkgo bilobaL. plant materials and dried leaf extracts by liquid chromatography-high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) and chemometrics," Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, 412, 6969-6982 (2020). 

3. Heck, M. and Neely, B. A., "Proteomics in Non-model Organisms: A New Analytical Frontier," Journal of Proteome Research, 19, 3595-3606 (2020). 

4. Phillips, M. and Zhang, K., "Mycotoxins and Food Safety-Prevention and Control: Expectation and Reality," Journal of Aoac International, 102, 1641 (2019). 

5. Yu, L. L., Browning, J. F., Burdette, C. Q., Caceres, G. C., Chieh, K. D., Davis, W. C., Kassim, B. L., Long, S. E., Murphy, K. E., Oflaz, R., Paul, R. L., Sharpless, K. E., Wood, L. J., Yen, J. H., and Zeisler, R., "Development of a kelp powder (Thallus laminariae) Standard Reference Material," Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, 410, 1265-1278 (2018). 

6. Wise, S., "CCQM activities and impact in food safety and nutrition," Abstracts of Papers of the American Chemical Society, 250, (2015). 

7. Sharpless, K. E., Thomas, J. B., Duewer, D. L., Putzbach, K., Rimmer, C. A., Sander, L. C., Schantz, M. M., Wise, S. A., Yarita, T., and Yen, J. H., "Preparation and characterization of standard reference material 3276, carrot extract in oil," Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, 389, 207-217 (2007). 

8. Sander, L. C., Sharpless, K. E., and Wise, S. A., "Dietary supplement Standard Reference Materials," Life Sciences, 78, 2044-2048 (2006). 

9. Sharpless, K. E., Anderson, D. L., Betz, J. M., Butler, T. A., Capar, S. G., Cheng, J., Fraser, C. A., Gardner, G., Gay, M. L., Howell, D. W., Ihara, T., Khan, M. A., Lam, J. W., Long, S. E., McCooeye, M., Mackey, E. A., Mindak, W. R., Mitvalsky, S., Murphy, K. E., NguyenPho, A., Phinney, K. W., Porter, B. J., Roman, M., Sander, L. C., Satterfield, M. B., Scriver, C., Sturgeon, R., Thomas, J. B., Vocke, R. D., Wise, S. A., Wood, L. J., Yang, L., Yen, J. H., and Ziobro, G. C., "Preparation and characterization of a suite of ephedra-containing standard reference materials," Journal of Aoac International, 89, 1483-1495 (2006).