Draft Guidelines for On-site Instruments for Food and Environment (2018) Seeking Public Comment; Rapid Testing Focused

On May 24, the Department of Basic Research of the Ministry of Science and Technology released the 2018 Project Application Guidelines (Draft for Comments) for the Key Special Project "Research and Application of Common Technologies for National Quality Infrastructure". The project's execution period is clarified as 2016 to 2020, with project-based implementation of each task. In 2018, 41 key tasks are planned, with a total estimated budget of approximately 400 million yuan. The focus is on research into high-precision metrological instruments, standards, and flattened value transfer metrological technologies; fundamental, public-interest, and urgently needed international and national standards, inspection and testing, and certification technologies; and the integrated demonstration of NQI technologies in typical fields.

The document provides specific instructions for research on metrological traceability technologies for on-site instruments and methods in the food and environmental fields, as detailed below:

2.6 Research on Metrological Traceability Technologies for On-site Instruments and Methods in the Food and Environmental Fields

Research Content: Research on calibration techniques for on-site instruments in the food and environmental fields; research on commonalities and key technologies for verifying and evaluating the characteristics of rapid on-site testing technologies; research on rapid analytical methods and metrological traceability and evaluation technologies for portable on-site testing instruments combining electrochemical and biotechnological approaches; development of a series of standard reference materials for calibrating food and environmental analysis instruments, including basic indicators such as protein and non-fat-soluble solids in raw milk, clenbuterol-like substances in animal body fluids, and heavy metal elements in aquatic products.

Assessment Indicators:

1. Develop four calibration specifications or national standards (draft for review) for on-site instruments in the food and environmental fields.

2. Establish four metrological verification and evaluation technologies for rapid on-site testing technologies using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), infrared spectroscopy, and biosensing. 3. Twelve national standard reference materials: Provide 12 national standard reference materials for calibration of environmental speciation analyzers, including 6 basic indicators such as protein, clenbuterol, heavy metal elements, etc., with no less than 30 characteristic quantities. The uncertainty u of the synthesis standard is: purity standard material ≤ 0.5%, solution standard material ≤ 1.5%, matrix standard material ≤ 6%. 4. Apply for no less than 5 invention patents and apply for no less than 2 internationally recognized measurement and calibration capabilities (CMC).