Feasibility of a reference material for staphylococcal enterotoxin A

A reference material for staphylococcal enterotoxin A (SEA), was produced by spray-drying the toxin in milk. With this procedure the SEA was distributed homogeneously in the material. For ease of handling the reference material was encased in gelatin capsules, each containing 405 ng of SEA. Simply dissolving the milk powder in distilled water resulted in a 100% recovery of the SEA present. The reference material would appear suitable for testing laboratory performance, comparison of detection methods and to validation of extraction procedures.