Using direct saponification, the cholesterol content of the certified reference material (SRM 1845, powdered egg) was found to be 19.0670.08mg/g, compared to the certified value of 19.070.2mg/g. With saponification of the lipid extract, a value of 18.170.7mg/g was obtained. The recovery percentages for direct saponification were 98.170.5 and 98.970.1%, respectively, when 0.1 and 0.05mg of cholesterol were added.