AOAC International recently introduced and began standards development activities for vitamin D, tea and aloe—ingredients previously identified by the dietary supplement trade as priority and ranked highest in order of need for standards and methods. With all three ingredients, AOAC is now looking to receive more industry engagement in reviewing standards for them for possible approval at AOAC’s Stakeholder Panel on Dietary Supplements (SPDS) meeting at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles, CA, September 25.
 
“Industry is integral in setting standards for AOAC’s initiative on dietary supplements,” said Darryl Sullivan, Covance Laboratories, and SPDS chair. “AOAC invites you to join in this important work.”
 
AOAC is leveraging networks and the dietary supplement industry for outreach and engagement. “Feedback has been highly positive,” said Dawn Frazier, AOAC executive for scientific business development, who explained that as of today, five major trade groups (AHPA, CHPA, CRN, NPA, UNPA), among other key experts, are participating to identify key stakeholders, subject matter experts, and analytical issues.
 
Under contract with the National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements, this project is expected to result in Standard Method Performance Requirements (SMPRs) for 25 priority ingredients overall—with the goal of obtaining AOAC Official Methods for these same priority ingredients. “Critical to the success of the project is indeed engagement of industry to participate in setting standards that reflect the needs and interests of the community,” said Ms. Frazier.
 
AOAC encourages any individual/company to participate that has a stake in the dietary supplements industry: product manufacturers, analyte/method subject matter experts, technology providers, method developers, government and regulatory agencies, contract research organizations, reference materials developers, ingredient manufacturers, method end users, academia and non-governmental organizations.
 
“The initiative is much larger than any single stakeholder can hope to address, but by collaborating with industry, the job can get done,” said Mr. Sullivan.
 
Working groups develop the SMPRs and are open to all interested. Participants can provide expertise on ingredients based on their own personal experience. “By becoming involved, you have a voice in helping provide guidance and expertise and developing standards for the analysis of dietary supplements,” said Mr. Sullivan. These standards will be used to assess candidate methods and ensure that methods published as AOAC First Action Official Methods are fit-for-purpose and acceptably meet performance expectations.
Since the inception of the 5-year contract in September 2013, SPDS has approved standards for anthocyanins, chondroitin, PDE5 inhibitors, Mitragyna speciosa (kratom), Folin C, cinnamon and ashwagandha in dietary supplements. Subsequently, AOAC has issued calls for experts and methods for the ingredients based upon these stakeholder-approved SMPRs. The standards are available at www.eoma.aoac.org and will be published in the Journal of AOAC International and Official Methods of Analysis print product.
 
Also at the Los Angeles meeting, AOAC’s SPDS meeting will introduce and begin standards development activities for the next set of priority ingredients: collagen, lutein (and esters) and turmeric (curcumins).
 
AOAC encourages any individual/company to attend that has a stake in the dietary supplement industry. “As a leader in standards development and provider of analytical solutions, AOAC can help industry create standards that address industry-wide issues—a major benefit for them to participate,” Mr. Sullivan said.
 
Participants can expect to meet a variety of colleagues in the industry and learn more about the list of priority ingredients and the AOAC stakeholder panel process. Most importantly, there will be opportunities to be a part of working groups to develop and draft SMPRs.
 
To participate in AOAC’s dietary supplements initiative or for general information, visit www.aoac.org > Standards Development > Stakeholder Panel on Dietary Supplements, or contact Dawn Frazier, executive for scientific business development, at dfrazier@aoac.org.