Synthetic Soil according to AATCC LP4-2023

Synthetic soil is used as the soiling option for evaluations of stain and soiling related to pile yarn floor coverings. The official methods that are used for these evaluations are AATCC TM122, AATCCTM123 and ASTM D6540. The procedure to apply the test soil is being improved to make it reproducible, and this has changed the status of some of the methods. Regardless, the synthetic soil used to soil or stain the floor covering has remained the same. The ingredients used and the procedure for formulating the synthetic soil is now available as AATCC LP4-2023. The Pickering Laboratories Synthetic soil (1700-0706) follows this procedure, sieved using 200 mesh sieve and is available in 25 g quantities. This formulation can also be used in other product testing procedures that require the use of synthetic soil.

Carbamate Test Mixture in Methanol, 2.5 μg/mL, each (1.0 mL /bottle) – PN 1700-0063

Please take note that part number 1700-0063 Carbamate Test Mixture will be undergoing a packaging change. The new final volume will be 1.0 mL rather than 5 mL. This packaging update will alleviate the need to ship Carbamate columns (which include the test mixture) as “Dangerous Goods in Excepted Quantites.” The new final volume will be considered De Minimis and does not need to ship as a regulated material. Additionally, the test mixture will now come packaged in an HPLC vial and be ready for injection directly from our packaging.

The following packaging change will take effect on July 1, 2023.

1700-0063 Carbamate Test Mixture in Methanol, 2.5 μg/mL, each (1.0 mL /bottle), Aldicarb, Aldicarb Sulfone, Aldicarb Sulfoxide, BDMC (4-Bromo-3,5-dimethylphenyl-N-methylcarbamate), Carbaryl, Carbofuran, 3-Hydroxycarbofuran, Methomyl, Methiocarb, 1-Naphthol, Oxamyl, and Propoxur

Please contact Pickering Laboratories Support at (650)694-6700, (800)654-3330, or support@pickeringlabs.com if you have any questions.

By Rebecca Smith

As the Pickering team mentioned in our last newsletter, we were humming with anticipation in the lead-up to attending Pittcon 2023.  The conference returned to in-person in March for the first time, post-pandemic, and we jumped at the chance to get to Philadelphia.  Kevin McKeown, David Mazawa and I happily hopped on two planes and a train for the trek and immersed ourselves in a week of reuniting with longtime customers and meeting new attendees as well. 

Although many of our international distributors were still unable to travel, we did have a good showing of North, Central and South American dealers arrive for meetings and to enjoy the expo.  For some of these relationships, this is the first time Kevin was able to actually shake hands and say “hi!”  He’s been Pickering’s Sales Manager for coming up on three years this November; that’s a long time to maintain new relationships virtually.  The meetings were all fantastic!  We appreciated each of our resellers who made the trip and hope to enjoy the mutual benefits of our ongoing partnerships.

Kevin has been in the industry a long time, and he’s got a huge network of existing relationships to tend to as well.  David and I went with him to our first Independent Laboratory Distributors Association (ILDA) reception, but he’s been an active participant for over a decade.  It was good fun (and food) for sure!

As with every exhibitor, we brought plenty of giveaways and literature for attendees to enjoy (and hopefully learn more about Pickering).  This year, our 40^th anniversary insulated/reusable shopping bags were a big hit!  It was so nice to celebrate our belated anniversary in Philadelphia with the entire expo, now that we’ve moved back to a live conference environment.  The bags are right in theme our other big 40^th anniversary activities, including our timeline.  If you missed seeing this last year, it’s well worth a read!  We’ve been involved in a lot of great stuff over the last four decades.

In another of our traditional Pittcon celebrations, we also raffled several prizes.  These gadgets are often products associated with our Product Testing Solutions (PTS) line, which are used in consumer product testing and development.  It’s our small way of thanking both our PTS customers and our Pittcon booth visitors!

This year, we’d like to congratulate winners Jim Walla from Evonik, and Julio Ogedra (pictured below) from the University of Central Florida.  We hope they both enjoy their prizes!

By: Kevin McKeown

In May, Pickering Labs had a chance to exhibit at the LAPRW – Latin America Pesticide Residue Workshop –  in Panama City, Panama!  This was made possible by an invitation from one of our Central American dealers, Analytical Technologies, and we are very grateful for the partnership (and translation services, even though Technical Support Manager David Mazawa’s Spanish is passable!).  Our booth was shared with other companies that Analytical Technologies represents: Agilent and Gerstel. 

The show consisted of many hot topics in the Pesticide Residue testing world, including the continued importance of Glyphosate monitoring.  Pickering Labs has been a leader in Glyphosate/Carbamate analysis for over 30 years, so it certainly gave us a lot to talk about with the attendees!  Some of the more interesting requests that we were asked about were Glyphosate in Honey and in Tomato Leaves.  Using HPLC + Post-Column is not only a long-standing, tried and true way of doing this analysis, but is also completely matrix-independent: making a tricky substance like honey a perfect candidate for our instrumentation.

What would a trip to Panama be without a trip to the canal?!  David and I had a VERY early Sunday morning wakeup call so that we could squeeze in some sightseeing, which included a bicycle tour around “old town” Panama City, where we learned a lot about Manuel Noriega and the completed history of Panama.  The organizing committee for LAPRW put together a wonderful show, which included a performance of traditional dancing, in classical dress, by some of the LAPRW volunteers (truly a full-service group!).  I would be remised if we did not get the attached picture with a pair of the dancers in front of our beautifully-appointed booth.

Pickering Laboratories, Inc. has recently become aware of a concerning issue in regards to copycatting of our products, both Post-Column and PTS (artificial body fluids). We have heard from our international distribution partners that there are inferior manufacturers who are actively looking to misrepresent their products as being produced by Pickering Laboratories, Inc. Some of their tactics include: mimicking our label, copying our company logo and most-brazenly stating that their company has acquired Pickering Labs, Inc.

None of these claims are accurate. In addition, these ‘spoofed’ products are not actually manufactured to the same formulations, nor are they produced with the same quality as Pickering Labs authentic products.

Our authorized dealers in each country can be found at the following website:

https://www.pickeringlabs.com/support/distributor-list/
In addition to being listed on our website, you can request an “Authorized Distributor Certificate” or a “Letter of Authorization” from any dealer to ensure that you are truly getting products manufactured by Pickering Labs.

We encourage any purchases to solely be made through distributors listed on the above link and we would like to thank our partners for bringing this to our attention.

If you, as an international customer or end user of Pickering Labs products, have any hesitancy at all in regards to a purchase we encourage you to contact us directly at: sales@pickeringlabs.com or support@pickeringlabs.com. We will be happy to answer any questions or review a possible source for authenticity.