ICUMSA News 52

Webmaster:

Luca Bani

September 2004

Editor: Mr. C. J. Shelton
Clive Shelton Associates
Provident House – Burrel Row
Beckenham – Kent BR3 1AT - UK
Tel.: +44 (0)20 8249 6524
Fax: +44 (0)20 8249 6554
E-mail: cliveshelton@toysafe.co.uk

Message from the President

After the interim meeting held in Atlanta, we are collecting all the matter we need for the publication of the Proceedings. Thanks to the availability of the SPRI, and in particular of Xanvier Miranda and Mary An Godshall, we can have at disposal the complete text of the recording of the tapes of the discussion held in Atlanta on the various subjects. On the grounds of such text we believe that it will be possible to set up very detailed Proceedings, which will document the activity and the interest which are the bases of our Commission.

On the grounds of the decisions taken in Atlanta, a “sleeping status” has been given to the General Subject GS9 – Sweeteners Other Than Sucrose -. We thank very warmly our friend J.M. de Bruijn for having took over the subject during the last period.

In Atlanta it was decided to set up a new General Subject concerning the Plantation White Sugar, considered as commercial commodity between White Sugar and Raw Sugar. Taking into account the present vacancy of the GS9, it has been decided to give to this new Subject the new title “Plantation White Sugar” entrusting to Dr. (Mrs.) Keskar the relevant Refereeship. If anyone should be interested to work as Associate Referee for this GS, please inform me through his National Committee. Therefore Mrs. Keskar leaves the Refereeship of the Subject S13 – Reducing Sugars – and we trust to find as soon as possible a new Referee. If anyone would be interested to take such a task, please let me know via his National Committee.

Moreover, we have to point out another change in the Refereeship of the General Subject GS4 – Molasses. We thank very warmly Mr. Dutton for having managed the GS4 in a moment of vacancy
and we wish the best to the new Referee Mrs. Gillian Eggleston.

All these changes, as well as some updating concerning Associate Referees I have received from some National Committees, will be as soon as possible posted in our web-site.

At the meeting of the Executive Committee held in Atlanta we have also discussed the duties of both the Referees and the Associate Referees. With the aim of formalizing these duties, Mary An Godshall has sent me a document which represents the basis of the US National Committee activity.
We report in the following the text of this document which could be a useful point of reference for all National Committees.

DUTIES OF REFEREES AND ASSOCIATE REFEREES OF USNC

1. The Sub-Committee for each Subject consists of a Referee and Associate Referees. The subject title designates the field of study. The title and number generally conform to those used by the International Commission for Uniform Methods of Sugar Analysis (ICUMSA). Every Referee in the United States National Committee on Sugar Analysis (USNC) should be an Associate Referee in ICUMSA on the same subject.

2. The number of Associate Referees is not set. Associate Referees may be chosen by the Referee, recommended by another party, or by personal request.

3. The ultimate purpose and responsibility of each sub-committee is to work toward analytical methods that are accurate and precise, as simple as possible, safe and generally acceptable. This statement may seem obvious, but it is worth repeating that this organization's function is to develop uniform methods, not to present new analytical methods. Methods that are at the forefront of research are generally not suitable for validation by collaborative testing, but new developments must be watched for possible future study. Methods should be validated by an international collaborative test that will provide data on repeatability and reproducibility.

4. The primary duty of each Referee is to present a written subject report and recommendations before USNC at its regular meeting every four years.

5. The USNC report and recommendations, once accepted by USNC at the regular meeting, should be transmitted to the International Referee, so that the position of USNC can be included in the report to ICUMSA at its regular session.

6. The starting point for the work is with the last ICUMSA recommendations. The U.S. Referee may wish to compare the ICUMSA actions with the previous USNC recommendations. If ICUMSA did not respond to the USNC recommendation(s), the U.S. Referee may choose to repeat the recommendation, drop the recommendation, or alter the approach.

7. A requirement for every report is a literature review of activity in the subject during the previous four-year period.

8. The Referee should solicit information and input from the Associate Referees and incorporate this material into the final report.

9. The U.S. Referee may choose to coordinate all sub-committee work through the International Referee.

10. It is recommended that the material for the subject report be accumulated over the four-year interim.