Preparation of Standard Reference Material 2383 (Baby Food Composite) and use of an interlaboratory comparison exercise for value assignment of its nutrient concentrations

The preparation of the recently released Standard Reference Material (SRM) 2383 Baby Food Composite and the process used for value assignment of nutri ent concentrations are reported. SRM 2383 can be used as a control material when assigning values to in-house control materials and when validating an alytical methods for measuring proximates, vitamins, and minerals in baby f ood and similar matrixes. The SRM was prepared as a commercial baby food wo uld be prepared, with the same ingredients. The Certificate of Analysis for SRM 2383 provides assigned values for concentrations of proximates, vitami ns, and minerals for which product labeling is required by the Nutrition La beling and Education Act of 1990. These assigned values were based on measu rements by the National institute of Standards: and Technology (NIST) and/o r collaborating laboratories. Assignment of analyte concentrations based so lely on analyses by collaborating laboratories is described in this paper. Certified values are provided for retinol, tocopherols, and several caroten oids including total beta-carotene the certification of and methodology use d for measurement of these analytes is discussed in a companion paper (this issue, page 288). Reference values are provided for solids, ash, fat, nitr ogen, protein, carbohydrate, calories, vitamin B-1, vitamin B-2, vitamin B- 6, niacin, biotin, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, iron, zinc, c opper sodium, potassium, and chloride. Reference values for addi tional car otenoids are reported in the companion paper (this issue, page 288). Inform ation values are provided for iodine, selenium, molybdenum, vitamin D, vita min B-12, folic acid, pantothenic acid, choline, inositol, sugars, total di etary fiber and 3 classes of fats.