MATTHEWS, N.C. – CEM Corporation, a leading global provider of laboratory instrumentation, is pleased to announce that AOAC International, a non-profit scientific association, has approved Official Method 2011.04, a protein-tagging and colorimetric technique for the determination of protein content in raw and processed meat and meat products of beef, pork, and poultry.

“We are very pleased that AOAC International has approved this method,” said Michael J. Collins, president and CEO of CEM Corporation. “This is a truly revolutionary system that has been embraced by food industry insiders as a valuable tool, but lacked the official method approval for full adoption. Now, with the publication of the method, more companies will be able to take advantage of Sprint’s time-saving accuracy and environmentally-friendly method.”

CEM Corporation’s Sprint Rapid Protein Analyzer was used in the collaborative study conducted as part of the approval process for this method. The study included beef, pork, and poultry products (raw and processed) with range of 9 – 40% protein. The Sprint utilizes iTAG™, a proprietary, non-toxic protein-tagging solution which binds to the lysine, histidine and arginine, as well as the n-terminus, of the proteins commonly found in raw and processed meat. The tagged protein is then analyzed via colorimetric technique and the results displayed as a percentage of protein. The compact, easy-to-use Sprint accurately analyzes protein in a variety of food products in only 2 minutes.

The method is safer than the conventional Kjeldahl technique, which uses hazardous chemicals heated to high temperatures. In 2009, the Sprint Analyzer was recognized with the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award for its greener reaction conditions.

AOAC International establishes performance criteria for methodology, validates it, and facilitates approval of analytical methods through internationally recognized guidelines. AOAC approval provides confidence that the results of a method are accurate, promoting trust in the safety and legitimacy of products by manufacturers who use AOAC methods. (Information on the organization has been taken from the AOAC International website at http://www.aoac.org.)

AOAC International is a 127-year-old nonprofit scientific association committed to worldwide confidence in analytical results and is a key authority for food production in the USA.

CEM Corporation, a private company based in Matthews, North Carolina, is a leading global provider of microwave laboratory instrumentation. The Company has subsidiaries in the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, France, and Japan, as well as a global network of distributors. CEM designs and manufactures systems for bioscience applications, life sciences, analytical laboratories and processing plants worldwide. The Company’s products are used in many industries including pharmaceutical, biotech, chemical, environmental, and food processing, as well as academic research.

SOURCE CEM Corporation