International Standards and Test Methods

A product standard describes requirements; a test method describes how a property is measured; a sampling plan describes how units are selected; and a performance criterion states what a method must achieve. Combining them into one vague reference obscures the decision being made.

A method must be suitable for the analyte, matrix, concentration range and regulatory question. A technique validated for one food or endpoint cannot be assumed equivalent for cured meat without evidence.

Defining, reference, alternative and screening methods can serve different roles. The fact that a laboratory can perform a test does not establish that the method is the one recognised by the applicable standard or authority.

Meat products can vary within a lot and within a single piece. Sampling location, number, preparation and composite design can dominate the result, especially for salt, moisture, organisms or species composition.

Calibration, reference materials, proficiency testing, uncertainty, blanks, controls and traceable records support confidence in reported results. Accreditation can strengthen evidence but does not make every method or interpretation automatically suitable.

The Codex should name the method and edition when a result depends on it, separate house measurements from official tests, and avoid false equivalence between weight loss, moisture content and water activity or between colour coordinates and visual description.