NIST - SRMs - Standard Reference Materials - Food!

What makes a $700 jar of peanut butter so special? The price alone would suggest NIST SRM peanut butter is a highly specific type of peanut butter that warrants its own discussion. Peanut butter is just one of hundreds of standard reference materials that NIST researchers create. I am excited to announce we have the honor to have a discussion with the scientists who create them!

During our talk and Q & A with NIST researchers Melissa Phillips
Laura Wood and Carolyn Burdette, we will learn the what, why and how of standard reference materials, including FOOD reference materials.

"Food manufacturers use the SRMs to calibrate their test methods and equipment. If their tests of our SRMs do not give them the answers that we say they should, they know that something has gone wrong with their tests and they have some adjustments to make. Once their results agree with ours, they know that their tests are properly calibrated and they can then accurately label their products with nutritional information and consumers can know that they are getting a balanced diet (or not, no judgment)."

Join us on the meetup to learn from the researchers, get your questions answered and also get a virtual tour of the lab!

Learn more below:

You may remember this blog going viral several years ago [https://www.nist.gov/blogs/taking-measure/going-nuts-over-nists-standard-reference-peanut-butter]

or perhaps you saw the Hackaday article just a few months ago [ https://hackaday.com/2020/12/23/the-mouth-watering-world-of-nist-standard-foods/ ].

Other required reading includes the strict requirements for baby food:
https://www.nist.gov/blogs/taking-measure/baby-food-thought-limits-detecting-toxic-elements

And for more information, check here:
https://www.nist.gov/mml/csd/organic-chemical-metrology/primary-focus-areas/food-nutrition-and-safety

Same as the previous virtual meeting, I will ask that participants mute their mics and type questions into the chat. I have a ton of questions going in my head, but be sure to get YOUR questions answered! Join us!