The FINANCIAL -- ISO and AOAC
INTERNATIONAL signed a cooperation agreement on International Standards
related to the trade of infant formula and adult nutritionals for the
benefit of all stakeholders, including consumers.
The ISO-AOAC agreement was signed on 18 June 2012 by ISO Secretary-General, Rob Steele, and AOAC Executive Director, James Bradford.
ISO, a nongovernmental organization with a membership comprising the national standards bodies of more than 164 countries, is the world’s largest developer of voluntary International Standards, with a current portfolio of more than 19 100.
AOAC INTERNATIONAL is a non-profit scientific association with headquarters in Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA. Through its more than 3000 members worldwide, the association serves the communities of analytical sciences by providing the tools and processes necessary for community stakeholders to collaborate and, through consensus building, develop fit-for-purpose methods and services for ensuring quality measurements.
Under the new agreement, ISO and AOAC can participate in each other’s work to jointly develop and approve standards. Initial priorities will focus on cooperation in the areas of infant formula and adult nutritionals and related milk and milk products. As ISO reported, it will also involve collaboration with the International Dairy Federation (IDF) relating to the joint ISO/IDF programme of work on methods of analysis and sampling for milk and milk products.
ISO Secretary-General, Rob Steele comments, “Such harmonization will significantly increase the global relevance and impact of our respective organizations through international promotion and adoption of common methods in the area of infant and adult nutrition”.
“ISO is a very important partner, and we are extremely pleased to enter into this high-level agreement,” says AOAC Executive Director James Bradford. “The new agreement underscores that ISO and AOAC share an effective and efficient approach in the development of International Standards.”
IDF President Richard Doyle says, “IDF has a strategic objective to foster mutually beneficial relationships with other organizations and has actively supported the efforts of ISO and AOAC to collaborate. IDF is looking forward to collaborating with AOAC and ISO in the development of methods of analysis for infant formula.”
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