AOAC BOD June 2018 Pre-Meeting Materials

II. 2018 Business Plan Progress Q2 E. Sustainability: Viable Contracts/Business Proposals analysis so that different analysts and laboratories working separately will achieve equivalent results, and thus build confidence in in silico PCR analysis results.

4. SPADA Consensus Standards for Bacteria Verification

Leads: McIver/Coates

Synopsis: It is not an uncommon occurrence for an investigator to discover that a bacterial culture is not what it is purported to be in terms of species or strain. There is no consensus on the process to authenticate bacterial strains. A standard would provide the biothreat detection community with a consensus standard regarding the minimum characterization that should be performed to authenticate the strain/species of a bacterial culture before using in any investigation or evaluation.

5. Cannabis

Leads: Coates/Senior AOAC Management

Synopsis: AOAC has been involved with the cannabis industry for a little over a year developing SMPRs for cannabinoids in plants, extracts and edibles. This experience has given AOAC insight and connections to this emerging community. Approximately 23 US states have legalized possession and use of marijuana. Marijuana is illegal at the federal level and not regulated at the federal level. Therefore, the federal government is unwilling and may not be allowed to lead the states on analytical issues. There is a lot of confusion at state laboratories on many analytical issues. There is no consensus and no apparent mechanism to develop consensus. There is a gap for a venue for the state labs where analytical issues can be identified, prioritized, discussed, and consensus arrived at. The proposal is to create an AOAC subsidiary [Cannabis Analytical Science Association (CASA)] to service the government (state, provincial, and/or federal) laboratories. CASA would limit its scope to analytical science of cannabis only.

6. SPIFAN – Next Phase

Leads: Meiklejohn/Coates

Synopsis: The current SPIFAN project is scheduled to be completed in September 2018. AOAC needs to develop a proposal for projects beyond September 2018 that will incorporate more of the “a la carte” new products, and meet more of the needs of the infant formula industry.

AOAC Board of Directors June 12-13, 2018

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