Covance's Vitamin D Infant Formula Analysis Named 'Official Method'

 PRINCETON, N.J.AOAC International granted "Official First Action" status to the Covance LC-MS/MS method for vitamin D infant formula analysis, making it an Official Method^SM.

Labs across the globe will adopt this method, developed by Covance Inc, as an agreed-upon standard for resolving conflicting test results.

Having a method that is accepted across multiple countries and regulatory bodies is significant, especially for international food manufacturers who dont want to have to go through multiple types of testing to sell globally," said Doug Winters, executive director, science and technology, Covance Nutritional Chemistry & Food Safety (NCFS). We are proud that the Covance method was selected to be the industry standard."

 AOAC initiated a review of infant formula testing methods as a result of significant changes in the industry since the groups last evaluation in the 1980s.

Infant formula produced today is far superior, with novel new ingredients, more stability and increased bioavailability," said Darryl Sullivan, director of scientific and regulatory affairs.  AOAC wanted to be sure that testing methods were keeping pace with the industrys innovation." 

 AOAC's Stakeholder Panel on Infant Formula and Adult Nutritionals studied more than a dozen methods and drafted a set of requirements for all vitamin D testing methods to meet. The panel assessed methods on precision, accuracy, specificity, practicality and a series of other attributes.

Also known as a "triple-quad mass spec," Covance's LC-MS/MS method has been used by the pharmaceutical industry for 20 years. Covance was one of the first to apply it to nutritional testing. The company took four years to apply and refine this technology to the analysis of vitamin D, not only in infant formula, but in a wide range of food and dietary supplement matrices.

This method is a lot more straightforward than previous tests, simplifying many of the sample preparation steps. Its more selective and tests for multiple forms of vitamin D, including D2 and D3," Winters said. While vitamin D is an essential nutrient, over-fortification of Vitamin D can be lethal, so accurate measurement is critical."

In addition to AOAC Official Method status, the Covance method is being reviewed for Official ISO and CODEX status in Europe. It also will be submitted for consideration by the Bureau of Indian Standards in India and GB in China. If accepted, the Covance LC-MS/MS method will be the global standard to be used by all infant formula companies and regulatory agencies around the world.

Recently, Covance's contaminant testing lab also received accreditations for meeting highest international quality standards.