Characterization of three berry standard reference materials for nutrients

Area of Science:

• Food Science and Nutrition
• Analytical Chemistry
• Reference Materials

Background:

• Dietary supplement analysis requires accurate and traceable reference materials.
• Food matrices, especially fruits and vegetables, present analytical challenges due to matrix effects.
• Existing reference materials may not adequately match the complexity and analyte levels of specific food samples.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and characterize new Standard Reference Materials (SRMs) for cranberry and blueberry products.
• To provide analysts with certified reference materials for method development, validation, and quality assurance in dietary supplement analysis.
• To offer materials that better match the matrices and analyte concentrations found in fruit and vegetable test samples.

Main Methods:

• Characterization of SRM 3281 Cranberry (Fruit), SRM 3282 Low-Calorie Cranberry Juice Cocktail, and SRM 3287 Blueberry (Fruit).
• Analysis included nine nutritional elements and sugars for all three SRMs.
• Blueberry SRM (3287) was further characterized for proximates, two water-soluble vitamins, and amino acids.

Main Results:

• Three new food-matrix SRMs (cranberry and blueberry) have been produced and characterized.
• These SRMs provide certified values for nutritional elements, sugars, proximates, vitamins, and amino acids.
• Nutritional elements are present at lower levels in these SRMs compared to other food-matrix SRMs, offering unique analytical utility.

Conclusions:

• The newly developed cranberry and blueberry SRMs enhance the availability of reference materials for dietary supplement analysis.
• These SRMs facilitate improved accuracy, traceability, and quality control in the analysis of fruit and vegetable-based products.
• The materials support method development and validation, particularly for samples with lower analyte concentrations.