Reference materials – an industry perspective

Biotechnologically enhanced plants and products derived thereof continue to be the reason for much dispute. In order to address concerns raised by the public, several countries have imposed mandatory labeling schemes indicating the presence of products derived from modern biotechnology, while others rely on voluntary labeling codes. Mandatory labeling triggers the need for methods that can be used to check compliance with and enforcement of the corresponding labeling legislation. In order to ensure the proper validation and implementation of a detection method in a specific laboratory, reference materials play a crucial role.