https://www.nist.gov/blogs/taking-measure/going-nuts-over-nists-standard-reference-peanut-butter Skip to main content U.S. flag An official website of the United States government Here's how you know Here's how you know [icon-dot-g] Official websites use .gov A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. [icon-https] Secure .gov websites use HTTPS A lock ( A locked padlock ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. https://www.nist.gov/blogs/taking-measure/ going-nuts-over-nists-standard-reference-peanut-butter National Institute of Standards and Technology National Institute of Standards and Technology Search NIST [ ] Search Menu Close * Publications * What We Do + All Topics + Advanced communications + Artificial intelligence + Bioscience + Buildings and construction + Chemistry + Climate + Cybersecurity + Electronics + Energy + Environment + Fire + Forensic science + Health + Information technology + Infrastructure + Manufacturing + Materials + Mathematics and statistics + Metrology + Nanotechnology + Neutron research + Performance excellence + Physics + Public safety + Quantum information science + Resilience + Standards + Transportation * Labs & Major Programs + Assoc Director of Laboratory Programs + Laboratories o Communications Technology Laboratory o Engineering Laboratory o Information Technology Laboratory o Material Measurement Laboratory o Physical Measurement Laboratory + User Facilities o NIST Center for Neutron Research o CNST NanoFab + Research Test Beds + Research Projects + Tools & Instruments + Major Programs o Baldrige Performance Excellence Program o CHIPS for America Initiative o Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) o Office of Advanced Manufacturing o Special Programs Office o Technology Partnerships Office * Services & Resources + Standards and Measurements o Calibration Services o Laboratory Accreditation (NVLAP) o Quality System o Standard Reference Materials (SRMs) o Standard Reference Instruments (SRIs) o Standards.gov o Time Services o Office of Weights and Measures + Software + Data o Chemistry WebBook o National Vulnerability Database o Physical Reference Data o Standard Reference Data (SRD) + Storefront + License & Patents + Computer Security Resource Center (CSRC) + NIST Research Library * News & Events + News + Events + Blogs + Feature Stories + Awards + Video Gallery + Image Gallery + Media Contacts * About NIST + About Us o Leadership o Organization Structure o Budget & Planning + Contact Us + Visit + Careers o Student programs + Work with NIST + History o NIST Digital Archives o NIST Museum o NIST and the Nobel + Educational Resources Taking Measure Just a Standard Blog Going Nuts over NIST's Standard Reference Peanut Butter January 25, 2016 By: Mark Esser Share Facebook Linkedin X.com Email NIST SRM 2387, Peanut Butter, with white bread NIST SRM 2387, Peanut Butter, with white bread. Credit: NIST Maintaining a social media account involves keeping track of the many random celebrations that can provide an excuse to post a story that otherwise might not have a timely hook. National Peanut Butter Day (Jan. 24 for the uninitiated) is just such a day. While NIST chemist Carolyn Burdette spent a cold morning last February testing samples of peanut butter (yes, that's part of her job), a visitor to our Gaithersburg, Md., campus was snapping a photo of a jar of the stuff, which is on display in our lobby. The image he posted to Twitter and imgur quickly shot around social media and stories soon appeared on sites including BoingBoing, the Food Network and Smithsonian magazine. "I felt a mix of pride and amusement as this story quickly played out over the Internet," says Burdette. "We know what we do is valuable for industry and ultimately the consumer, but we don't expect to see it talked about on Reddit!" NIST chemist Carolyn Burdette in a white lab coat and wearing goggles holding up a jar of SRM 2387, Peanut Butter NIST chemist Carolyn Burdette with SRM 2387, Peanut Butter. Credit: B. Place/NIST NIST seems an unlikely source for peanut butter, but we actually sell a variety of "foods," including spinach, low-calorie cranberry juice cocktail and something called "meat homogenate." Although you could theoretically consume them, that's not what they are intended for--and the grocery store probably has much tastier, and certainly less expensive, options. NIST sells these "foods" to help make you a more informed consumer ... pun intended. As you are no doubt aware, packaged foods come with a list of nutritional values mandated by the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990, which is enforced by the Food and Drug Administration. You may be less aware of where those numbers come from. Well, manufacturers don't just make them up. They have to do tests. NIST develops food and beverage-related standard reference materials (SRMs) to help them know that those tests are giving them the right answers. Food manufacturers use the SRMs to calibrate their test methods and equipment. If their tests of our SRMs do not give them the answers that we say they should, they know that something has gone wrong with their tests and they have some adjustments to make. Once their results agree with ours, they know that their tests are properly calibrated and they can then accurately label their products with nutritional information and consumers can know that they are getting a balanced diet (or not, no judgment). When a company buys an SRM from NIST, they are really buying all of the measurements and scientific expertise that went into determining its chemical or physical properties, as well as NIST's level of certainty regarding those measurements. After all, knowing how good your measurement is is as important as knowing the measurement itself, which is why NIST works constantly to improve measurement science. NIST sells some 1,300 SRMs that help a variety of industries make sure they are meeting regulations or industry standards that help ensure the safety and consistency of their products, among other characteristics. But the food and beverage SRMs can present unique challenges, in particular to NIST staff. Said one anonymous researcher, "I remember the trouble I had with the baking chocolate SRM. Never before during my sample prep had I wanted to 'catch the drip' on the lip of the beaker with my finger and eat it." Our researchers may not get to taste test the SRMs, but they help ensure that you are getting what you expect from the foods you buy, which is pretty sweet. Chemistry, Health and Standards About the author black and white photo of Mark Esser Mark Esser Mark Esser has been a writer/editor in the NIST Public Affairs Office since October 2007. He has written internal and external news, video scripts, speeches and other content on a wide variety of subjects. He helped to initiate and served as contributing and managing editor of the NIST Taking Measure blog from 2016 until 2021. He now works in NIST internal communications. Related posts Peter Beaucage wears safety glasses as he stands in the lab, holding a piece of equipment on display. Robots and AI Are Working Together to Bring You Better Medicines, Shampoo and More January 15, 2025 Products you use every day are carefully formulated in a lab. Experts at NIST are now working to revolutionize how those products are made. Photos of everyday objects like an iron, a gas can and a laptop along with high-tech items like an atomic clock and a mass balance. Label reads: 10 Ways NIST Impacts Your Daily Life. From Safer Skies to Fewer Fires: 10 Ways NIST Impacts Your Daily Life December 19, 2024 If you've ever had a medical test, flown on an airplane, or needed to check the time, NIST's work affects your life every day. Historical photo shows three men standing next to a refrigerator-sized piece of machinery with an analog clock attached to the top. How Atomic Clocks Have Changed Our World November 4, 2024 We spend our days immersed in time. But where does time come from? How do we track it? This has evolved along with technology in recent years. Comments Robert Hessler on January 27, 2016 3:42 PM Permalink The world's falling apart and NIST wastes time with this nonsense? DUH!!! * Reply mark.esser@nist.gov on January 27, 2016 3:55 PM | Replied to Permalink Hi, Robert. NIST has been making standard reference materials like this to help industry maintain and improve product quality and comply with government regulations since 1906. SRM 2387 is only one of more than 1,300 materials made for this purpose. * Reply Sandra on March 15, 2016 9:16 PM | Replied to Permalink Not so. Consistency of product and repeatability are absolutely essential to produce aquality product. Retired quality assurance inspector * Reply Hobert Ressler on November 19, 2022 8:11 PM | Replied to Permalink Hello Robert, This peanut butter is very carefully mixed and measured using complex instruments over a series of months or years, in order to provide a reference to factories when their machines become uncalibrated. It is also used to detect any irregularities in the ingredients. Hope this helps! * Reply Alex Pettit on September 8, 2023 7:57 AM | Replied to Permalink Compare these to gauge blocks used in machine shops to calibrate manual lathes. * Reply Huseyin Okan Durmus on February 2, 2016 9:29 AM Permalink I think many articles like this must be published in the "takingmeasure blog" in order to introduce standard reference materials very well for those not knowing and understanding its importance. * Reply Doug Berg on February 15, 2016 10:05 AM Permalink NIST sells an SRM 1196 - cigarettes for ignition testing. In the past the test methods specified a 100 mm unfiltered cigarette and advised purchasing a "fresh" pack to make sure they were not dried out since moisture was a concern. These could have been Pall Malls, Chesterfields, Phillip Morris, etc. Now NIST sells a unit of two cartons of 10 packs each with 20 cigarettes in a pack (400 total) for $261 dollars (about $13 a pack). I am certain that having spent the money these laboratories will keep them dried out or not until consumed which for most labs would take years. Will these results be representative or comparable? Who knows? Meanwhile NIST is way behind on industry requests for metallic standards involving titanium and other alloys as a meeting at NIST last spring (2015) brought out and pleading lack of resources. * Reply mark.esser@nist.gov on February 25, 2016 10:11 AM | Replied to Permalink Hi Doug, what meeting are you referring to? * Reply George on February 12, 2019 2:00 PM Permalink I appreciate the link to other food and beverage related SRMs. It has me wondering if we could organize a cooking contest. Make any dish you like, so long as composed solely of SRMs. * Reply Add new comment You must have JavaScript enabled to use this form. Your name [ ] Comment Required* [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Plain text * No HTML tags allowed. * Web page addresses and email addresses turn into links automatically. * Lines and paragraphs break automatically. CAPTCHA Image CAPTCHA What code is in the image? Required* [ ] Enter the characters shown in the image. This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions. [Save] Please be respectful when posting comments. We will post all comments without editing as long as they are appropriate for a public, family friendly website, are on topic and do not contain profanity, personal attacks, misleading or false information/accusations or promote specific commercial products, services or organizations. Comments that violate our comment policy or include links to non-government organizations/web pages will not be posted. Our Science in Your Inbox Subscribe to our weekly emails. Enter Email Address [ ] [Sign Up] Search [ ] Put exact phrase in quotes (e.g., "artificial intelligence") [Search] Stay connected FacebookLinkedInYoutubeInstagramGovDelivery Categories [-- Choose -- ] National Institute of Standards and Technology logo HEADQUARTERS 100 Bureau Drive Gaithersburg, MD 20899 301-975-2000 Webmaster | Contact Us | Our Other Offices X.com Facebook LinkedIn Instagram YouTube Giphy RSS Feed Mailing List How are we doing? Feedback * Site Privacy * Accessibility * Privacy Program * Copyrights * Vulnerability Disclosure * No Fear Act Policy * FOIA * Environmental Policy * Scientific Integrity * Information Quality Standards * Commerce.gov * Science.gov * USA.gov * Vote.gov