European Proficiency Test FV 13 Announcement
EUPT-FV-13 Announcement
Dear Colleagues,
We would like to invite you to participate in the European Proficiency Test in Fruits and Vegetables 13 (EUPT-FV-13), organised by the European Union Reference Laboratory for Residues of Pesticides in Fruits and Vegetables on behalf of the European Commission, Health & Consumer Protection Directorate-General (DG-SANCO).
This EUPT-FV-13 is directed to all National Reference Laboratories (NRLs) and all Official Laboratories (OfLs) in the EU Member States. Laboratories outside this CRL/NRL/OfL-Network may be allowed to participate on a case-by-case basis after consultation with DG SANCO.
The test material for the EUPT-FV-13 is MANDARIN homogenate.
The aim of this exercise is to ensure the quality, accuracy and comparability of the residue data reported by EU Member States to the European Union as well as other Member States within the framework of coordinated and national monitoring and surveillance programs.
For registrations please CLICK HERE. There you can find all the information about this European Union Proficiency Test (Application Form, General and Specific Protocols, Forms and Target Pesticide List)
OR CLICK HERE TO ACCESS DIRECTLY TO THE APPLICATION FORM
Please note that according to Article 28 of Regulation 396/2005/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council od of plant and animal origin, all laboratories analysing samples for the official controls on pesticide residuef 23 February 2005 on maximum residue levels of pesticides in or on food and fees shall participate in the European Union Proficiency Tests (EUPTs) for pesticide residues organised by the EU. Then, this Proficiency Test is mandatory for all NRLs and OfLs in the field of pesticide residues analyses in fruits and vegetables for official controls. Mandatory laboratories that do not intent to participate in this test are expected by DG SANCO, to state the reasons for non-participation.
This should be done by mail to: omalato@ual.es
The calendar for this proficiency test is this:
| Activity | Date |
|---|---|
| Publishing the Target Pesticide List, Calendar and Matrix on the Web page. | October 2010 |
| Receiving Application Form from invited laboratories. | 1st-30th November 2010 |
| Specific Protocol published on the Web site. | January 2011 |
| Deadline for receiving Laboratory scope: Form 0 | 19th January 2011 |
| Sample distribution. | 24th January 2011 |
| Deadline for receiving sample acceptance: Form 1 | 28th January 2011 |
| Deadline for receiving results: Forms 2, 3 and 4 | 18th February 2011 |
| Filling in Form 5 | 21st-25th February 2011 |
| Preliminary Report: only results, no statistical treatment. | March 11 |
| Final Report distributed to the Laboratories. | October 2011 |
The test materials, 300 g of mandarin homogenate containing pesticide residues, together with 300 g of 'blank' mandarin homogenate, will be shipped to participants on 24th of January 2011. If any laboratories have holidays in the week of the shipment, please inform the organiser to rearrange shipment - as soon as possible.
The deadline to fill in the Laboratory scope "form 0" is 19th January 2011
The deadline to fill in the "form 1" (Sample reception) is 28th of January 2011.
The deadline for result submission to the Organiser will be 18th February 2011.
After this deadline, a new site will be open to give further information on the way of analysis on specific pesticides, this is Form 5. It will be from 21st - 25th February 2011.
The participants can download the Target Pesticide List now from the webpage of this European Union Proficiency Test or clicking here: Pesticide List
The laboratories have to determine the residue levels and report the concentrations for each of the pesticides that they detect (and also include the method used for each pesticide analysed but not detected to allow us to carry out a deeper analysis of the results). This list of target pesticides also contains the Minimum Required Reporting Level (MRRL) for each pesticide, please be aware that some MRRLs are lower than the general 0.01 mg/kg.
The 'blank' material is intended to be used for recovery experiments for the pesticides found in the test material and, if necessary, for the preparation of matrix-matched calibration standard solutions.
For the assessment of the overall laboratory performance, the Sum of Weighted z-Scores (SWZ) will be used as in the last Proficiency Test with the same criteria. Only laboratories that detect at least 90% of the pesticides present in the test material and report no false positives are going to be considered to demonstrate 'sufficient scope' and they will be therefore classified into Category A. Furtheron, new formula will be used to evaluate laboratory performance, the Sum of Squared z-Scores (SZ2). Laboratories will also be classified into Category A using this formula with the same criteria as in the past.
Within Category A, the laboratories are going to be also sub-classified as 'good', 'satisfactory' or 'unsatisfactory'. All the other laboratories will be classified into Category B, because they demonstrate 'insufficient scope'. For laboratories in Category B, classification will also be conducted. This information will be available in the General Protocol.
Please note that in some cases the documents or the dates could change, new versions update. In this case, it will be published in our webpage and additionally an e-mail will be sent to the participants for notification. But please, check periodically our website in case the email does not get through to you.
For any further question about EUPT-FV-13, please contact with:
Ms. Paula Medina
Department of Hydrogeology and Analytical Chemistry
UNIVERSITY OF ALMERĶA
Ctra. de San Urbano s/n
04120 Almerķa
Tel. (+34) 950014102 (+34) 950014102
Email: pmedina@ual.es
Mr. Octavio Malato
Department of Hydrogeology and Analytical Chemistry
UNIVERSITY OF ALMERĶA
Ctra. de San Urbano s/n
04120 Almerķa
Tel. (+34) 950015531 (+34) 950015531
Email: omalato@ual.es
Best Regards,
The EUPT-FV 13 Organizing-Team
Published 06-10-2010, 13:51:49
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