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Health

Food & nutrition

Projects/Programs

Displaying 1 - 19 of 19
Map of the Northern hemisphere Pacific Ocean, with environmental specimen sampling sites indicated with data points in the Hawaiian Islands, Alaska, and Bering Sea locations.

Classification Methods for the NIST Biorepository

Ongoing
NIST has been archiving biological and environmental specimens, including marine animal and environmental samples, for over 40 years. Currently, these biospecimens are stored at cryogenic temperatures in the NIST Biorepository located at the Hollings Marine Laboratory in Charleston, SC. Various
Dietary QAP

Dietary Supplement Laboratory Quality Assurance Program (DSQAP)

Ongoing
Approximately 75% of the U.S. population takes dietary supplements, including vitamins and mineral supplements, representing an annual expenditure of more than $20 billion. Regulations, driven by reported cases of inaccurate labeling, adulteration, contamination (with pesticides, heavy metals, or
Dietary QAP

Dietary Supplement Laboratory Quality Assurance Program (DSQAP) Consortium

Ongoing
The objective of the DSQAP Consortium is to develop and evaluate measurement methods and standards to support quality and safety for the dietary supplement testing community. Approximately 75% of the U.S. population takes dietary supplements, including vitamins and mineral supplements, representing
Food Nutrition Safety QAP

Food Nutrition and Safety Measurements Quality Assurance Program (FNSQAP)

Ongoing
As part of a revamp of QAPs in 2021, NIST established the FNSQAP to support the NIST Food Safety Program and Measurements and Standards to Support Nutrition Labeling. Participants measure nutrient components (e.g., minerals, vitamins, fatty acids, dietary fiber) and contaminants (e.g., toxic
Circle with the logo of Health Assessment Measurements Quality Assurance Program initials

Health Assessment Measurements Quality Assurance Program (HAMQAP)

Completed
Participants in the HAMQAP measured concentrations of nutritional and toxic elements, fat- and water-soluble vitamins, fatty acids, active and/or marker compounds, and contaminants in samples distributed by NIST.   Samples that represent human intake (e.g., foods, dietary supplements, tobacco) were
Illustration with logo style printing: “organic ingredients”, “100% natural”, “100% organic”; “natural ingredients”, and “authentic” centered in bold letters.

Machine Learning to Predict Food Provenance

Ongoing
Adulteration of food and food products is a pernicious problem which is difficult to solve as supply chains and international trade routes become increasingly complex; yet agriculture contributed over $1 trillion to the US GDP in 2017, [1] illustrating the importance of protecting this and related

Measurements and Standards for Botanical Dietary Supplements

Ongoing
Many consumers believe that botanical dietary supplements will improve their health and that these "natural" remedies are both effective and free from the side effects that may occur with other medications. There are occasional reports of inaccurate labeling, adulteration, contamination (with
Food Triangle

Measurements and Standards to Support Nutrition Labeling

Ongoing
Well-characterized certified reference materials are needed by laboratories in the food testing and nutrition communities to facilitate compliance with labeling laws and improve the accuracy of information provided on product labels so that consumers can make good choices. As a result of the

Methods to Quantify Microbial Viability

Ongoing
Validating DNA-based methods to quantify viable bacteria ( S. Da Silva , G. Pinheiro) Microbial detection technologies based on nucleic acid measurements, such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR), are powerful detection tools that can provide relatively rapid results as compared to traditional
Figure showing four components of metabolomics with samples and processing

Microbial Metabolomics

Ongoing
Mass spectrometry (MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy are widely used and complementary analytical platforms for the characterization, identification, and quantification of a metabolome. MS techniques, typically coupled to chromatography, provide a chemical fingerprint of complex
Graphic of a erlenmeyer flask containing tilled soil, a green leaf, and yellow wheat.

Molecular Innovation in Agriculture

Ongoing
Plant science and breeding aim to develop new plant phenotypes with desired qualities, increased production, disease resistance, and traits that reduce water usage. At the federal level, plant research is conducted by the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and Agricultural
Montage of photographs depicting eggs, almonds, grain, milk, strawberries, fish, peanuts, and soybeans.

NIST Food Protein Allergen Program

Ongoing
Food allergen management is an increasingly important economic and public health concern; therefore, accurate and reliable allergen measurements are a crucial component of the management pathway. Traditional methods for food allergen detection are based on immunoassay techniques and are linked to a
photo collage of meats, cheese, eggs, fish, and shellfish

NIST Food Safety Program

Ongoing
The Food Safety Program at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) provides advanced analytical chemistry and quantitative biology to ensure that food is free of contaminants and allergens and is authentic, promoting U.S. manufacturers’ participation in domestic and foreign markets
NIST PS1

NIST PS1 Primary Standard for quantitative NMR (Benzoic Acid)

Completed
With explicit SI linkage, the overall impact of this apical reference material is profound—this primary standard, as well as forthcoming members of its class, provides technology transfer of chemical purity realization to the commercial sector for characterization of many thousands of organic
Fish on a ruler to measure length, about 47 cm from head to tail.

Omics Technological Advances in Aquaculture

Ongoing
According to the NOAA Fisheries of the U.S. report, in 2020 U.S. seafood consumption was estimated at ~6B pounds (~2.7 x 109 kg). Of that, 85% is imported and U.S. exports have seen a significant decline. Globally, the U.S. ranked only 18th in aquaculture production (2020). NIST aims to enhance the
Research Grade Testing Material (RGTM 10212), Synthetic Fecal Metabolite Calibrant (Credit: NIST)

Synthetic Fecal Metabolite Calibrant Solution (RGTM 10212)

Ongoing
Metabolomics is an exciting and dynamic field in life sciences that harnesses cutting-edge technologies to identify and characterize small molecules, or metabolites, within cells, tissues, or organisms, collectively known as the metabolome. The wealth of evidence in the literature underscores the