by Jennifer A. Murray and Rosemary J. Versteegen
Volume 18, Open Access (Aug 2019)
It is a common belief that fetal bovine serum (FBS) collected from certain geographical regions, such as New Zealand, is of superior quality to material collected from South America. Whilst it is true that origin does have an impact on the price of serum, it does not affect the quality or biological performance of the product. FBS collected under similar conditions from any geographical region will demonstrate comparable ability to support cell growth. For FBS, the term “quality” is frequently confused with “health status.” It is the health status of the geographical region from which the serum is collected that will dictate its potential use, the availability of material for import, and eventually, the price. It should be noted that health status should be considered a result of more than just the geographical source of the material, but also the regulatory infrastructure and how well regulations are enforced by the countries within that region…
Citation:
Murray JA, Versteegen RJ. Fetal bovine serum – geographical origin and international trade. BioProcess J, 2019; 18. https://doi.org/10.12665/J18OA.Murray
Posted online Aug 28, 2019.