International Stevia Council Develops Stevia Proficiency Testing Program

10 Dec 2013 --- The International Stevia Council (ISC) is introducing a Reference Benchmark Standard in its Proficiency Testing Program (PTP) for stevia leaf extracts. This is launched during the current round of the Program and ISC has contracted ChromaDex Corp. to provide the Reference Benchmark Standard for the next two years.

"The aim of the new Reference Benchmark Standard is twofold" explains Larry Fernandes, President of the ISC. "We want to ensure we continue improving our testing capabilities in the PTP, by having all participants use the same Reference Benchmark Standard to remove the potential differences attributable to using multiple reference standards. Introducing a common reference baseline across all participants will provide more focused and better guidance as to differences in methods and laboratories' practices in the PTP, from a statistical point of view."

The PTP was launched by the ISC in 2011 and in addition to members of the ISC, companies, laboratories and research organisations can also participate in the PTP.