The European Union and Codex Alimentarius Commission quality criteria for methods of analysis in the food laboratory are described, as is their application in the novel foods area, where the determination of GMOs is taken to be representative of the sector. Particular aspects of the introduction of the criteria approach and of measurement uncertainty requirements are discussed, and how the latter considerations demonstrate the large variability in precision that should be expected from methods of analysis in the novel foods area. Results that reinforce these considerations are presented.