As the cigar industry awaits just what kind of regulation it will be facing from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), many have wondered just how the agency will be able to process the thousands of requests for product approval that will flood its office.
Earlier this week, a request was made by the FDA to purchase a “cigar smoking machine with CO analyzer,” which published on the Federal Business Opportunities website.
Specifically, the FDA is seeking to purchase a Cerulean SM410CV, a machine capable of smoking and analyzing ten cigars that measure up to 200 mm in length and 22.5 mm in diameter, roughly a 7 7/8 x 56 cigar. According to the notice, FDA is looking for a machine that will be able to “simulate human cigar smoking under a variety of conditions and to collect smoke residues for further regulatory chemical analysis,” while helping increase the lab’s capabilities to analyze cigar smoke products. Given that FDA is specifically looking at carbon monoxide in cigar smoke, it could provide some insight as to a standard that manufacturers will have to adhere to once an announcement regarding premium cigar regulation is announced. The request closes on Monday, Feb. 29 at noon Eastern. According to the request, the machine would be located in FDA’s Southeast Regional Laboratory in Atlanta, Ga. Pricing for the unit was not immediately available.
http://halfwheel.com/cigar-smoking-machine-sought-by-fda/108303
