Code of Federal Regulations Title 21. Food and Drugs § 21.2.19 Methods of analysis

Where the method of analysis is not prescribed in a regulation, it is the policy of the Food and Drug Administration in its enforcement programs to utilize the methods of analysis of the AOAC INTERNATIONAL (AOAC) as published in the latest edition (13th Ed., 1980) of their publication “Official Methods of Analysis of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists,” and the supplements thereto (“Changes in Methods” as published in the March issues of the “Journal of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists”), which are incorporated by reference, when available and applicable. Copies are available from the AOAC INTERNATIONAL, 481 North Frederick Ave., suite 500, Gaithersburg, MD 20877, or at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). For information on the availability of this material at NARA, call 202-741-6030, or go to: http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/code_of_federal_regulations/ibr_locations.html. In the absence of an AOAC method, the Commissioner will furnish a copy of the particular method, or a reference to the published method, that the Food and Drug Administration will use in its enforcement program. Other methods may be used for quality control, specifications, contracts, surveys, and similar nonregulatory functions, but it is expected that they will be calibrated in terms of the method which the Food and Drug Administration uses in its enforcement program. Use of an AOAC method does not relieve the practitioner of the responsibility to demonstrate that he can perform the method properly through the use of positive and negative controls and recovery and reproducibility studies.