The Agricultural Product Reference Materials Laboratory operates under the Institute of Agricultural and Food Standardization of CNIS and is the first laboratory in China dedicated to developing qualitative reference materials for agricultural products. It focuses on sensory qualitative reference materials and quantitative chemical composition reference materials, addressing market needs for sensory reference materials for grading agricultural products, quantitative reference materials for natural products, and matrix reference materials for environmental pollutant residues.

The Laboratory conducts research in high-value agricultural product non-destructive or minimally invasive sampling technologies, sensory reference material valuation techniques, homogeneity testing technologies, natural product separation and preparation technologies, storage and preservation technologies for natural bioactive substances, high-resolution detection technologies for natural products, environmental pollutant enrichment and concentration technologies, highly sensitive detection methods for environmental pollutants, uniform spraying technologies for environmental pollutant matrix reference materials, and preservation technologies for environmental pollutant matrix reference materials.

The Laboratory comprises five functional units: agricultural product sample storage, chemical reagent storage, sample preparation room, sample analysis room, and data processing room. It is equipped with over 20 instruments, including fiber analyzers, grain standards development systems, and standard sample workstations, providing a solid hardware foundation for qualitative reference material research and promotion. Additionally, the laboratory is equipped with conventional physicochemical analysis instruments such as high-speed counter-current chromatography, high-performance liquid chromatography, preparative liquid chromatography, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, gas chromatography, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, fluorescence spectroscopy, UV-Vis spectroscopy, and infrared spectroscopy, enabling research on purity quantitative reference materials.

The research team includes one research fellow, two associate research fellows, and three engineers, all holding Master’s or higher degrees, including two PhD holders. Five renowned domestic experts with extensive experience in reference material research and management serve as advisors, covering fields such as natural product chemistry, natural product resources, analytical chemistry, and food chemistry. This forms a well-structured research team with close ties to industry departments. The laboratory has developed 14 national certified reference materials and 13 national certified standard substances and has led the development of 20 national standards for detecting natural products in agricultural products.

Main Research Areas

- Development of Sensory Qualitative Reference Materials: Focuses on high-value agricultural products such as tea, ginseng, and pearls. Conducts sensory qualitative research on color, aroma, taste, texture, and shape, developing corresponding sensory qualitative reference materials for grading agricultural products to achieve premium pricing.

- Development of Natural Product Reference Materials: Focuses on the separation and preparation of active ingredients in plant natural extracts. Conducts research on separation, preparation, homogeneity, stability, and valuation methods for natural products, preparing corresponding reference materials for quality control of plants and their products.

- Development of Environmental Pollutant Matrix Reference Materials: Focuses on reference materials for qualitative and quantitative detection of pesticide and veterinary drug residues in high-value agricultural products. Develops highly sensitive, universally applicable, and user-friendly detection methods, prepares corresponding matrix reference materials for pesticide and veterinary drug residues, and studies their homogeneity, stability, and valuation methods for food quality and safety control.

Main Services

- Consulting services for the application, development, and review of sensory qualitative reference materials

- Development of separation and preparation methods for organic compounds

- Development and validation of analytical methods

- Qualitative and quantitative detection of environmental pollutants such as pesticides, veterinary drugs, and biotoxins

- Design of physicochemical analysis laboratories

Classic Industrial Cases

- Alta Scientific Co., Ltd. (Tianjin): Research on preparation methods for reference materials/samples

- Suzhou Huitong Separation Technology Co., Ltd.: Development of large-scale separation and preparation methods for cannabidiol

- China Jiliang University: Consulting services for natural product reference materials

Contact Information

Contact Persons: Xi Xingjun, Lan Tao

Phone: 18810608738, 010-58811108

Email: lantao@cnis.ac.cn