Use of proficiency tests to assess the comparative performance of analytical methods: the determination of fat in foodstuffs

Abstract

The determination of fat in foodstuffs is a common analytical task. Hitherto there has been no authoritative comparative exercise to assess the available methods by means of results from a large number of laboratories. In this paper four different empirical methods of analysis for fat are compared using the results generated from a proficiency testing scheme. The results show significant bias between some of the different methods, confirming the empirical nature of the determination.