QUALITY

This section sign posts users to information on accredited laboratories, reference materials, proficiency testing schemes and best practice guidelines for food authenticity testing and research:

Accredited laboratories: use the search function on the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) to identify an accredited laboratory.

Reference materials: COMAR is an internet based information service that has been developed to assist users in finding the reference materials they need.

Proficiency testing schemes: EPTIS is a cooperation of around 40 partner organisations from all continents (most of them are national metrology institutes, testing institutes or accreditation bodies) who offer proficiency testing schemes.

Guidelines

The following section provides information on best practice information aimed and improving the quality and robustness of food authenticity testing and research.

The purpose of the different Minimum Information for Publication of Digital PCR Experiments (MIQE) publications is to support authors, editors, and reviewers of manuscripts applying PCR to nucleic acid measurement. The research community can use this as a resource to ensure sufficient detail is published to allow full assessment of the work, while also providing basic guidance on how to approach experimental design, execution, and data-analysis.

The goals of the MIQE series of manuscripts remains three-fold: dMIQE2020 describes optimal reporting of dPCR findings to enhance its scientific impact and maximize the potential of this powerful and unique technology. The ultimate aim is to ensure that published research applying dPCR will be understood from a technical point-of-view and can be reproduced. This in turn supports the validity of associated conclusions and their successful translation for use in applied situations, such as in vitro diagnostic testing.

  1. To enable authors to design, perform, and report experiments that have greater scientific integrity.

  2. To facilitate replication of experiments described in published studies where these guidelines are followed.

  3. To provide critical information that allows reviewers, editors, and the wider scientific community to measure the technical quality of submitted manuscripts against an established standard.

The work was funded by UK Government Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, RVO: 86652036; by project BIOCEV (CZ.1.05/1.1.00/02.0109) from the ERDF, H2020 project SPIDIA4P, IMI project CANCER-ID; C. Wittwer, BioFire Diagnostics, Canon Virginia.

dMIQE2020

Since the publication of the guidelines for the Minimum Information for Publication of Quantitative Digital PCR Experiments (dMIQE) (1), digital PCR (dPCR) has seen considerable technological development with a plethora of new applications. dPCR has progressed from an expensive approach with a limited application niche, available to only a few laboratories, towards a mainstream global technology (2) offering unique advantages and applications to many scientists.

To reflect this advancement, the dMIQE has been updated: dMIQE2020, which builds on the original guidelines to account for the increase in the number of applications and new platforms that have become available in the last 7 years.

Some of the associated advantages and limitations are highlighted, and these updated guidelines are written with the support of dPCR instrument manufacturers. The intention is to enable dMIQE2020 to reflect this maturing technology by addressing new factors that need to be included in publications reporting dPCR data.

Read full paper.