Notice2026-10528
Food Nutrition and Safety (FNS) Measurements and Methods Consortium
Primary source
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Published
May 27, 2026
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Institute of Standards and Technology
Abstract
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), an agency of the United States Department of Commerce, in support of efforts to develop and evaluate measurement methods and standards, including reference materials, to support quality and safety for the food testing community, is establishing the Food Nutrition and Safety (FNS) Measurements and Methods Consortium ("Consortium"). The Consortium will bring together stakeholders to identify and address measurement and standards needs related to analytical testing of food ingredients and food products. The Consortium efforts are intended to advance food measurement capabilities, support the development of food reference materials, and collect data to support the development of best practices and standard methods. Participants will be required to sign a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA). At NIST's discretion, entities that are legally prohibited or not legally authorized to enter into CRADAs may be allowed to participate in the Consortium under an agreement other than a CRADA with terms that may differ, as necessary, from the Consortium CRADA terms.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 101 (Wednesday, May 27, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 101 (Wednesday, May 27, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31430-31431]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-10528]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Food Nutrition and Safety (FNS) Measurements and Methods
Consortium
AGENCY: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Department of
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of Research Consortium.
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SUMMARY: The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), an
agency of the United States Department of Commerce, in support of
efforts to develop and evaluate measurement methods and standards,
including reference materials, to support quality and safety for the
food testing community, is establishing the Food Nutrition and Safety
(FNS) Measurements and Methods Consortium (``Consortium''). The
Consortium will bring together stakeholders to identify and address
measurement and standards needs related to analytical testing of food
ingredients and food products. The Consortium efforts are intended to
advance food measurement capabilities, support the development of food
reference materials, and collect data to support the development of
best practices and standard methods. Participants will be required to
sign a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA). At
NIST's discretion, entities that are legally prohibited or not legally
authorized to enter into CRADAs may be allowed to participate in the
Consortium under an agreement other than a CRADA with terms that may
differ, as necessary, from the Consortium CRADA terms.
DATES: The Consortium's activities will commence August 25, 2026.
(``Commencement Date''). NIST will accept letters of interest to
participate in this Consortium on an ongoing basis.
ADDRESSES: Completed letters of interest must be submitted via the
letter of interest webform at https://forms.gle/
[[Page 31431]]
HBnwvinURpiGJrKF6, by email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#6f020a03061c1c0e411f07060303061f1c2f01061c1b41080019"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="59343c35302a2a3877293130353530292a1937302a2d773e362f">[email protected]</span></a>, or via
hardcopy to the Consortium Manager, Dr. Melissa Phillips, Chemical
Sciences Division of NIST's Material Measurement Laboratory, 100 Bureau
Drive, Mail Stop 8390, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899. Organizations
whose letters of interest are accepted in accordance with the process
set forth in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this notice will
be asked to sign a consortium CRADA with NIST. A consortium CRADA
template will be made available to qualifying applicants.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: J'aime Maynard, Consortia Agreements
Officer, National Institute of Standards and Technology's Technology
Partnerships Office, by mail to 100 Bureau Drive, Mail Stop 2200,
Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, by electronic mail <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#ceafa9bcababa3aba0babd8ea0a7bdbae0a9a1b8"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="0362647166666e666d7770436d6a70772d646c75">[email protected]</span></a>,
or by phone (301) 975-8408.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The objective of the FNS Measurements and
Methods Consortium is to develop and evaluate measurement methods and
standards to support quality and safety in the food testing community.
Food manufacturers rely on accurate analytical testing methods to
ensure consistency in food production and accuracy in product labeling,
and thus, compliance with food labeling laws. Additionally, testing is
critical to understand potential contamination sources and levels to
ensure food ingredients and food products are safe for human
consumption and to reduce the need for product recalls.
The focus of this Consortium is to compare measurement methods to
characterize and quantify nutrients and/or contaminants in food
ingredients and food products, toward improving overall comparability
within the community and enabling organizations that join the
Consortium (``Consortium Members'') to improve the accuracy and
precision of their own, internal measurements. The Consortium will
organize at least one interlaboratory study annually based on candidate
reference materials and/or commercial products with the following
goals:
<bullet> Evaluate the applicability of current reference materials
for food ingredient and food product testing, and develop new reference
materials to support advancement of the food testing industry.
<bullet> Compare the suitability of current published methods,
including standard methods, to measure nutrients and/or contaminants in
food ingredients and food products.
<bullet> Utilize common materials to collect reproducibility data
in support of measurement assurance and standards development, and
propose tests(s) that can be standardized through the AOAC
International or similar consensus process, using outcomes from
Consortium efforts as a foundation.
No proprietary information will be shared or accepted as part of
the Consortium. Contributions of materials to be used as
interlaboratory study samples, such as food ingredients or products,
are highly encouraged.
Participation Process
Eligibility to participate in the Consortium will be determined by
NIST based on the information provided by prospective participants in
response to this notice. Prospective participants can submit a letter
of interest by completing the letter of interest webform at <a href="https://forms.gle/HBnwvinURpiGJrKF6">https://forms.gle/HBnwvinURpiGJrKF6</a>; alternatively, parties can answer the
questions detailed in LETTER OF INTEREST, below, and send via email or
hardcopy (for reference, see ADDRESSES section above). NIST will
contact interested parties if there are questions regarding the
responsiveness of the letters of interest to the project objective or
requirements identified below.
Each responding organization's letter of interest should include
the address, point of contact, and following information:
(1) The contribution(s) the organization will make to the
Consortium efforts. All Consortium members must contribute one or more
of the following:
a. Analytical Testing: Narrative of interest and experience in
analytical testing of food ingredients and food products and
description of the services and/or technical capabilities they will
contribute to Consortium activities. Please describe thoroughly or
attach information about available instrumentation, relevant
accreditations, published methods, etc.
b. Materials: Narrative of interest and description of the food
ingredients or food products they will contribute to Consortium
activities.
c. Unique Industry or Community Perspective: Narrative of interest
and description of other relevant expertise (e.g., trade associations,
regulatory oversight, standards development) they will contribute to
Consortium activities.
(2) List of anticipated participating individuals (anyone
contributing to Consortium activities, such as laboratory analysts,
should be included).
Letters of interest must not include proprietary information,
including proprietary business information. NIST will not treat any
information provided in response to this notice as proprietary
information. NIST will notify each organization of its eligibility to
join the Consortium. In order to participate in this Consortium, each
eligible organization must sign a CRADA. Entities that are legally
prohibited or not legally authorized to enter into CRADAs may be
allowed to participate in the Consortium, at NIST's discretion, under
separate non-CRADA agreements with terms that may differ, as necessary,
from the Consortium CRADA terms. NIST does not guarantee participation
in the Consortium to any organization submitting a letter of interest.
Authority: 15 U.S.C. 3710a.
Alicia Chambers,
NIST Executive Secretariat.
[FR Doc. 2026-10528 Filed 5-26-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-13-P
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