Certified Reference Materials

Standard reference materials are ‘controls’ or standards used to check the quality and metrological traceability of food products, to validate analytical measurement methods, or for the calibration of instruments. A certified reference material is a particular form of measurement standard. These materials have a known concentration to which you can calibrate your analytical instrument. These are produced and usually supplied together with a matrix as matrix interference is important in food analysis. Quality management systems involving laboratory accreditation under national and international accreditation/certification standards such as ISO/IEC 17025 require metrological traceability to Certified Reference Materials (where possible) when using reference materials for calibration. They are also used for method validation, quality assurance, training and certification of employees and proficiency testing. Two types of reference material can be distinguished: accredited and non-accredited reference material. Accredited materials can again be distinguished between certified and non-certified reference materials while for non-accredited reference materials term like quality control material or analytical standard are also common.