130 Experts on Pesticide Analytics Meet in Stuttgart
The joint workshop of the four EU reference laboratories for pesticide analysis is taking place this year from 18 to 20 October in the Schwabenlandhalle in Fellbach, Germany. The more than 130 participants from all EU member states including visitors from third countries come from their respective national reference laboratories or their country’s official laboratories. The goal of the biannual event is to ensure that the quality of official monitoring of food and animal feed is at an equally high level throughout Europe. Topics to be discussed will include laboratory comparative studies that put the capabilities of the individual labs to the test, as well as the advancement and continuing development of quality standards that are legally binding for all official laboratories in the EU.
Dr. Michelangelo Anastassiades at his opening presentation of the EURL Workshop.
Policy Officer Stephanos Kirkagaslis presents news from the EU Commission on pesticide monitoring.
Consumer Protection Minister Peter Hauk MdL welcomed the international experts on behalf of the regional government. Direct collaboration with the EU Commission was visible as Stephanos Kirkagaslis, representative of the EU, reported on future developments and Luis Carrasco Cabrera, representative of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) introduced the activities of his officials.
Organizing this international workshop has kept our pesticide team busy around the clock in recent weeks. For ultimately, in addition to the venue and program, suitable lodging, delicious food and attractive side activities contribute to ensuring that the participants feel comfortable and that the event is a great success.
Background Information
European Reference Laboratories in the Field of Pesticides
The Chemical and Veterinary Analysis Agencies of Stuttgart and Freiburg have been the European Reference Laboratories in the field of pesticides since July 2006. The task of the European Reference Laboratories is to ensure quality, precision and comparability of the analytical results from the official labs in the Union.
The tasks are defined under Article 94 of Regulation (EC) 2017/625 as follows:
The community reference laboratories for food and feed are mainly responsible for:
- the formation of a network between European reference laboratories, national reference laboratories and the official laboratories of the member countries (the current EU laboratory network consists of 247 official pesticide laboratories);
- method development and collection of information regarding analytical methods;
- the annual carrying out of comparative tests (lab comparison investigations) for quality assurance;
- the annual conducting of furthering education courses for national reference laboratory employees and experts from third countries;
- scientific and technical support from the Commission for analytical questions regarding, e.g. legal regulations (authorization for pesticides, establishment of maximum residue levels);
- arbitration analyses in cases where member states have filed an objection to analytical results;
- cooperation with laboratories in third countries that are responsible for analyses of food and animal feed.
The community reference laboratories must fulfill the following requirements:
- have enough qualified personnel with an appropriate education;
- possess the equipment necessary for carrying out their delegated tasks;
- have an appropriate administrative infrastructure;
- ensure that their employees maintain confidentiality;
- have enough knowledge of international norms and practices;
- have access to a current list of the available reference substances;
- consider research conducted at the national and community level;
- have experts that can work in the community in cases of emergency.
Cereals and animal feed
National Food Institute
Department of Food Chemistry
Danish Technical University (DTU)
DK-2860 Soeborg
Denmark
Animal-based and high-fat foods
Chemical and Veterinary Analyses Agency (CVUA) Freiburg
Post Office Box 100462
D-79123 Freiburg
Germany
Fruit and vegetables
Laboratorio Agrario de la Generalitat Valenciana (LAGV)
Grupo de Residuos de Plaguicidas de la Universidad de Almería (PRRG)
LAGV: E-46100 Burjassot-Valencia
PRRG: E-04120 Almería
Spain
Substances that require special single residue methods in food and feed
Chemical and Veterinary Analysis Agency (CVUA) Stuttgart
Post Office Box 1206
D-70702 Fellbach
Germany
A detailed presentation of the laboratories can be found on the EURL Homepage.
In connection with their work the reference laboratories conduct annual, multi-day workshops, to which representatives from all the national reference laboratories are invited. Every two years there is a joint workshop of all four EURLs with about 130 participants. In 2023 this workshop is taking place in Fellbach. Information about the program is available on the EURL Website.
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