EUPT AO-09 Invitation letter
The European Union Reference Laboratory for Pesticides in Food of Animal Origin and Commodities with High Fat Content (EURL AO) in Freiburg, Germany, invites all NRLs and OfLs to its ninth proficiency test (PT), thus enabling each participating laboratory to assess its analytical capability by comparing its results with the assigned values.
A test material of liquid whole egg will be supplied, spiked with analytes from the list given in the announcement letter (mainly compounds belonging to the pesticide groups: organochlorines, organophosphates and pyrethroids, included in the list of maximum residue levels in Commission Regulation 396/2005 and also in the list of compounds to be analysed in the 2014 Multiannual Coordinated Control Programme (MACP, Regulation No 788/2012)).
Approx. 50 g of the test item will be supplied in April 2014. In addition, a blank (not spiked) portion of the same test item will be provided. Participating laboratories may use any analytical method. Four weeks after receiving the PT sample, results should be reported online to the EURL via the EUPT website. After receiving the results, a statistical evaluation of the data submitted will be performed and all quantitative laboratory results will be assessed by means of z-scores. A final report will be sent to the participating laboratories together with a certificate of participation.
The pesticides target lists consists of two annexes with pesticides. Annex 1 contains the pesticides to be analysed for in routine analysis according to the MACP plus a few other compounds of interest in the matrix egg. This list is comparable to the list from previous EUPT AOs. Thus, all laboratories involved in the MACP 2014 are obliged to analyse the pesticides in this list. For sufficient scope it is necessary to detect at least 90 % of the analytes from list in annex 1 present in the test item.
Annex 2 contains all "new" pesticides, which can be analysed on voluntary basis in the MACP. Thus, in accordance to the MACP pesticides listed in annex 2 are for voluntary analysis, too. The pesticides in annex 2 will not influence the categorising in A and B for they are voluntary. These results will be statistical treated separately. A exemplary method for the determination of quatenery ammonium compounds used by EURL AO is available here.
The objectives of this survey are to assess the interlaboratory consistency of results from the analyses of pesticides in animal food samples and to provide a quality assurance assessment of the NRLs and the official laboratories within the EU.
Participation is mandatory for all laboratories selected as NRL for pesticides in food of animal origin and commodities with high fat content and, according to Art. 28 of EC Reg. 396/2005, for all official laboratories undertaking the analysis of these commodities for the official controls on pesticide residues. If participation is not possible, the Commission expects an explanation to be given by the laboratory.
To check, if your laboratory is obliged to participate in EUPT AO 09, please check here.
Laboratories are asked to register online via website from 18 February - 12 March 2014 even if they don't intend to participate. In the registration procedure, there is a possibility to explain the reason for non-participation.
There will be a general fee of 175 € for every participating laboratory from EU and EFTA countries (including NRLs) and 350 € for third countries for shipping and handling. The organizers will not accept participants from Third Countries if they cannot guarantee that the test items are still frozen arriving in the laboratories (duration of shipping > 2 days). An invoice will be sent together with the samples.
All documents relating to this Proficiency Test EUPT AO-09 are available on the restricted CIRCA area.
last update: 12.03.2014
Published 31-01-2014, 10:29:14
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