Wilson, NC – Microbac Laboratories, Inc., in response to expanding regulatory actions, has announced the establishment of the Center of Excellence for Tobacco Products at its Wilson, North Carolina (USA) Division laboratory.
 
The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009 (FSPTCA) was enacted June 22, 2009 (H.R. 1256), amending the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), and further regulating tobacco products by the Secretary of Health and Human Services through the Food and Drug Administration  (FDA). Among the law’s three sections, the manufacturing component sets rules to reduce or eliminate harmful ingredients. The purpose of this regulation is to create a standard for Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), which can include testing for pesticide residues and other potentially harmful compounds.

“Making the investment to establish controlled environments to further support tobacco products testing is a natural extension of Microbac’s long history of supplying analytical services for tobacco and other FDA-regulated products,” said Robert Crookston, Microbac’s Vice President of Business Development.  “This addition enables the development of methodology for the full list of smoke constituents for manufactured products.”

Construction of the Center has already begun with operational qualification expected to occur in February 2012.  The Center of Excellence for Tobacco Products will be located within the Wilson Division’s 33,000 square foot facility which is already FDA-registered and cGMP-compliant for the purpose of testing FDA-regulated markets such as pharmaceuticals, dietary supplements, cosmetics, and agrochemical residues.

“We are excited to have this opportunity as one of the very few truly independent labs in the market,” said Dr. Richard Higby, Managing Director of the Wilson Division.

For more information, please contact:
Dr. Richard Higby
Microbac Laboratories, Inc., Wilson Division
richard.higby@microbac.com
252-237-4175