Throughout its long history the International Commission for Uniform Methods of Sugar Analysis Ltd. (ICUMSA) has always aimed to put scientific and technical excellence at the forefront when developing and adopting methods for the ICUMSA Methods Book. In order to ensure that ICUMSA methods can be promulgated throughout the world to those interested in sugar analysis, and that the methods are available to everyone, ICUMSA aims to avoid adopting methods generated by other commercial entities and proprietary methods in general. In this way, ICUMSA can maintain its independence and be certain that all the methods within the ICUMSA Methods Book are adopted on technical merit alone rather than for commercial reasons.
However, ICUMSA also recognises that proprietary methods (for example, those based on test kits and indirect methods based on NIR) have a very important part to play providing either quick or cost effective solutions for analytical laboratories.
That said, ICUMSA has never approved or endorsed any proprietary method, scientific instrument or instrument manufacturer and will not do so in the future.
Therefore scientific papers or marketing literature that suggest that a proprietary method or analytical instrument has been approved by ICUMSA is misleading.
Members of ICUMSA and others who discover any such instances, should report their findings to the ICUMSA Officers so that steps can be taken to correct any misleading representations and protect the ICUMSA Trademark without delay.