Precision parameters of methods of analysis required for nutrition labeling. Part I. Major nutrients.

Major components of foods and feeds are fat, protein, and carbohydrates. Fat and protein are determined by direct measurements that are interpreted as the quantity of the constituent. Carbohydrates are usually calculated by difference. For this calculation, values for moisture/solids, ash, and "fiber" are also needed. The readily available collaborative studies for the determination of these major components are reviewed in an attempt to assign precision parameters to validated methods of analysis. When a number of studies for the same analyte, in the same food, by the same method are available, it is seen that the precision parameters among laboratories (standard deviations, SR; relative standard deviations, RSDR) and the ISO maximum tolerable difference functions (repeatability value, r; reproducibility value, R) are not characterized by any conventional distribution. The precision data are best summarized as a median or average parameter and the interval containing the centermost 90% of reported values. Typically, the precision of methods of analysis can be expressed as a function of concentration only, independent of analyte, matrix, and method. The average RSDR value from each collaborative data set can then be used as the numerator in a ratio containing, as the denominator, the value calculated from the Horwitz equation: RSDR = 2 exp (1 - 0.5 log C) where C is the concentration as a decimal fraction. A series of ratios consistently above 1, and especially above 2, probably indicates that a method is unacceptable with respect to precision. By this criterion, only the protein (Kjeldahl) determination is unqualifiedly acceptable with a 90% interval for RSDR of 1 to 3% at C values above about 0.01 (1 g/100 g). Fat, moisture/solids, and ash are acceptable down to limiting concentrations in the region of 1 to 5 g/100 g, if a test portion large enough to provide at least 50 mg of weighable residue or volatiles is specified. Measurements of individual carbohydrates and fiber-related analytes have unexpectedly poor precisions among laboratories. The variability, although high, may still be suitable for nutrition labeling. Reliability of analyses for the control of labeling of the primary nutrients must be achieved through quality assurance programs that require strict adherence to the directions of empirical methods and the use of suitable reference materials for absolute methods.