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EPL Bio Analytical Services provides specialized Nutrient
Compositional Equivalence evaluations for agricultural
biotechnology companies that develop genetically enhanced
plant varieties.
The food safety assessment for these products, whether
performed by the FDA or the EPA, requires evaluation
of the safety of the newly added DNA, its protein products
and the overall balance of the food. Guiding this assessment
is the concept of "Substantial
Equivalence".
Substantial Equivalence (SE) is widely regarded as
a sound basis for safeguarding the quality and safety
of biotech foods and provides historical context based
on centuries of experience with conventional foods.
Evaluation of the Substantial Equivalence of a new
food involves analysis of Nutrient Compositional Equivalence.
Nutrient Compositional Equivalence involves several
in-depth analyses that measure the bioavailability and
quantity of important nutrients in food, such as proteins,
carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, fats and oils are
analyzed to ensure that they fall within the normal
range of variability for the food. As many foods contain
naturally occurring toxins and anti-nutrients, levels
of these substances are also tested and compared.
Our validated methods for proving Substantial Equivalence
through Nutrient Compositional Equivalence evaluations
are based on published procedures from such sources
as:
- Association of Analytical Communities (AOAC)
- American Association of Cereal Chemists (AACC)
- American Association of Oil Chemists (AOCS)
- Customized methods applying Environment Protection
Agency (EPA) Standards
EPL combines its historical expertise in Nutrient Compositional
Equivalence and Good Laboratory Practices (GLP) to offer
one of the most sophisticated, EPA GLP compliant service
packages available.
EPL currently analyzes maize, soy, and cotton matrices
and processed fractions for Nutrient Compositional Equivalence
using instruments such as:
- Gas chromatography (GC)
- High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)
- Inductively coupled plasma (ICP)
- Microwave Accelerated Reaction System (MARS)
- Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR)
- Optical emission spectrometer
- Spectrophotometer
- Ultra performance liquid chromatography (UPLC)
EPL has expertise in development and validation of
methods and continually adds new methods and new matrices
to our suite of analyses. |
