Food test kit gets AOAC certification

Biacore International has had its food analysis kit, used for the rapid routine testing of the vitamin food supplement folic acid, fully validated and certified as a Performance Tested Method by the Association of Analytical Communities Research Institute.

The certification of Biacore's Folic Acid kit means food manufacturers will now have a means of meeting legal requirements on vitamin fortification.

The AOAC Performance Tested Methods status assures the user that a totally independent third-party review has been undertaken and the test kit meets all performance,claims Biacore.

The company also stressed that the Folic Acid Kit measures the important B-vitamin in hours, rather than the days that it used to take traditional microbiology-based assays (MBA). This enables manufacturers to closely control vitamin dosageand to minimise wastage.

Used with Biacore Q, a dedicated system for concentration analysis, the ready-to-use kit provides accurate and reliable measurements offolic acid in a variety of foodstuffs, including:cereals, milk powder, pre-mixes, as well as milk and soya-based infant formulas.

Using the principal of Surface Plasmon Resonance(SPR) biosensor technology, used widely in thepharmaceutical industry, the Biacore Folic Acid Kit isbased on the principle of inhibition assay. Biacore claimed that in additionto providing faster results, higher productivity andlower costs, the kit also delivers increased specificity and sensitivity for the foodindustry.

"Biacore is expanding the number of kits it offers to cover analysis of a range of water soluble vitamins and residues of increasing concern in the area of food safety,"​ saidEsa Stenberg, vice president and head of the food business unitat Biacore. "These include tests for biotin,vitamin B12, streptomycin, clenbuterol, and the newlylaunched ractopamine kit, amongst others."​