64. The report of the 13th Inter-Agency Meeting (IAM)[19] was presented by the Observer from AOAC International. The Committee was informed that the report would be available on the AOAC International’s World Wide Web homepage (http://www.aoac.org). An updated Directory of Organizations Working in the Fields of Standard Methods of Analysis and Laboratory Quality Assurance for the Food Sector[20] was made available for this Session. The Committee noted that Dr. Roger Wood was elected as chairperson of the 13th Session of the IAM and EURACHEM was accepted as a new member of the IAM.
65. The Committee was informed that the IAM noted the recent concerns expressed by several Codex Committees, in particular, the Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues (CCPR) and the Codex Committee on Residues of Veterinary Drugs in Foods (CCRVDF), that it was difficult to find validated methods and information on the validation of methods was not readily available. The Committee was also informed that a general discussion was held on possible publication of performance characteristics in the methods. The IAM agreed to advise that stakeholders[21] of standardized methods of analysis might require the publication of method performance characteristics in the method itself (see para. 34).
66. The Committee noted that the criteria approach as opposed to prescribing methods of analysis was not appreciated by all IAM members.
67. The Committee noted that the IAM considered the need and the definition(s) of “Limit(s)”, and presented a report to this Committee. The IAM was of the opinion that if the Codex limit given for a certain matrix was not low enough to come close to the detection limit of a method, there was no need to give limits of determination (see para. 37).
68. In relation to the IAM’s role and involvement in the quality assurance in the food analysis, the IAM concluded that this issue was progressing in the scientific fora such as the International Harmonization Programme, EURACHEM and others. Regarding the IUPAC/ISO/AOAC Harmonization Programme, the IAM concluded that the harmonization of in-house validation was an issue where the cooperation of all parties involved was required (see paras 49-50). The IAM expressed its wish that more consideration should be given to the use of proficiency testing data in obtaining information on the performance of the methods of analysis used.
69. The Committee noted the report of the IAM and appreciated efforts of the IAM in providing technical support to the work of this Committee.
