www.jrc.ec.europa.eu

Serving societyStimulating innovationSupporting legislation

Implementing the EU regulatory framework related to food safety - the role of the Joint Research Centre

Franz UlberthEuropean Commission – Joint Research Centre

FoodDrink Europe, 2011

Food scandals

© Andrea Ellis

Legal background

• White Paper on Food Safety (COM/99/719): assuring the highest standards of food safety is a key priority for the Commission; identifies the need to establish a Community-wide framework for official controls

• Regulation EC/178/2002 (general food law): to protect public health and consumers’ interests in relation to food, while promoting free movement of food within the EU

• Regulation EC/882/2004 (official feed and food control): sets out the approach that competent authorities of Member States must adopt for official controls

Food crises and scaresBSEDioxinsNitrofuranBADGEAcrylamide….

EU food and feed legislation

To protect the well-being of consumers, to allow them to make informed choices and to ensure free movement of goods

Safety:

• limit amount of hazardous substances in food supply chain

• ensure that legal limits are implemented and respected

Quality:

• ensure compliance with label declaration (content of valued ingredients, origin, manufacturing process)

EU legislation requiring chemical measurementsin foodstuffs

• Residues of veterinary medicinal products (growth promoters, antibiotics, etc)

• Food contact materials• Pesticide and veterinary drug residues (EU-

wide monitoring programmes)• Food contaminants and residues

(mycotoxins, heavy metals, PAHs, PCBs, dioxins, etc)

• Food labelling (nutritional properties, allergens)

• GM food and feed labelling• Common Agricultural Policy (support and

intervention schemes)

• millions of measurements are performed every year to implement European legislation

• important decisions are taken based on those measurements

• need for harmonized implementation of policies in EU27+

Measurements and legislation

Compliance and measurement uncertainty

Result plus MUbelow limit

Result belowlimit but limit

within MU

Result abovelimit but limit

within MU

Result minusMU above limit

Standardisation

• (Inter)nationalstandardisation organisation

• Professional/trade associations

Quality Infrastructure

Metrology• Metre convention• National metrology

institutes

Accreditation• National accreditation

bodies

RASFF 2011

• 3812 original notifications, • 635 classified as alert,• 573 as information for

follow-up,• 744 as information for

attention, • 1860 as border rejection

notification• 5 345 follow-up

notifications,

http://ec.europa.eu/food/food/rapidalert/docs/rasff_annual_report_2011_en.pdf

• support to the authorisation of products used in human and animal nutrition

• support to the efficient control of the compliance of food and feed with European legislation carried out by Member States’ official control laboratories

Note: The actual control aspect is the duty of national reference laboratories and competent authorities in the Member States – not the EU-RL.

Mandated by Regulation (EC) No 882/2004Amended by Regulation (EC) No 776/2006

Tasks of EU Reference Laboratories (EU-RLs)

EU reference laboratories should contribute to a high quality and uniformity of test results, in areas where a need for precise analytical results exists (regulatory limits)

• providing national reference laboratories with details of analytical methods, including reference methods;

• coordinating application by the national reference laboratories of the methods, in particular by organising comparative testing and by ensuring an appropriate follow-up of such comparative testing in accordance with internationally accepted protocols

The EU-RL/NRL network

Contribution to standardisation

A common language for measurements

Improvement of measurement capabilities

Requirements for accreditation

Reference materials

Interlaboratory comparisons

Control laboratories in the Member States

NRL

EU-RL

Forty one EU-RLs in EU

14 EU-RLs for animal health and live animals

27 EU-RLs for feed and food

EU-RLs for food and feed

MycotoxinsJRC (Geel)

Heavy metalsJRC (Geel)

Feed AdditivesJRC (Geel)

PAHsJRC (Geel)

Food contact materialsJRC (Ispra)

GMOsJRC (Ispra)

Dioxins and PCBsCVUA-Freiburg

Animal proteins in feedCRA-W, BE

TSEsVLA, UK

PesticidesDFVF,DK; CVUA-Freiburg, DE; LAGV, SP; CVUA-Stuttgart, DE

Veterinary drug residuesRIVM, NL; AFSSA, FR; BVL, DE; ISS, IT

ParasitesISS, IT

Bivalve molluscsCEFAS, UK

Marine biotoxinsAESA, SP

Antimicrobial resistanceDFVF, DK

Escherichia coliISS, IT

Coagulase+StaphylococciANSES, FR

Listeria monocytogenesANSES, FR

CampylobacterSVA, SW

SalmonellaRIVM, NL

Milk and milk productsANSES, FR

Participants in IMEP-107As in rice

Austria; 2

Belgium; 3

Canada; 3

China; 7

Cyprus; 3

Czchek Republic; 5

Denmark; 4

Estonia; 1

Finland; 3

France; 2

Germany; 3

Greece; 5

Hungary; 9

Ireland; 2Israel; 3Italy; 1Latvia; 2Lithuania; 1Macau; 1

Malaysia; 4Malta; 1

Netherlands; 2

New Zealand; 2

Norway; 2Poland; 1

Portugal; 4

Romania; 1

Singapore; 4

Slovakia; 1

Slovenia; 1

Spain; 4

Sweden; 2

Switzerland; 2

Thailand; 3

United Kingdon; 8

Europe = 76%Asia Pacific = 24%

29 NRLs took part in the PT8 reported values for inorganic As

103 laboratories from 35 countries

98 reported results for total As 30 for inorganic As

σreflab xxz −

= indicates degree of compliancewith peers, legislation, ...

Scoring

22labref

refbla

uuxxzeta+

−=

states if the laboratory result agrees with the assigned value within the

respective uncertainties

umin ≤ ulab ≤ umaxindication of the plausibility of

uncertainty estimate

Examp

le IMEP

-10

7

0,000

0,050

0,100

0,150

0,200

0,250

0,300

0,350

0,400

0,450

0,500

L45L100

L90L49L76L55L89L33L13L67L03L88L25L46L16L11L70L52L63L28L26L18L73L36L59L93L32L81L54L34L29L23L72L44L19L21L05L40L68L83

L101L85L53L30L58L91L42L15L37L74L96L47L24L87L66L71L75L27L94L62L77L99L92L86L43L09L20

L102L50L65

L103L08L78L02L61L79L10L80L01L04L14L38L17L82L95L39L41L60L51L07L69

Laboratory code

Total As (mg kg-1)

98 laboratories (X

ref , uref ) cf. certification

Sigm

a-hat = 15 %

.

Xref±

2σ

XrefXref

±2uref

☺

Total As in

rice

Inorganic arsenic in rice

• it is possible to measure inorganic As in rice

• results agree within a range of ± 15 %.

• results are not method-dependent

Pesticides in fruit and vegetables

-5,0

-4,0

-3,0

-2,0

-1,0

0,0

1,0

2,0

3,0

4,0

5,0

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200 1300

25%

FFP RSD

50%

25%

50%

65% of data

86% of data

3% of data

4% of data

3% of data

4% of data

z-Scores

EUPT1 EUPT2 EUPT3 EUPT4 EUPT5 EUPT6 EUPT7 EUPT8 EUPT9 EUPT10

-5,0

-4,0

-3,0

-2,0

-1,0

0,0

1,0

2,0

3,0

4,0

5,0

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200 1300

25%

FFP RSD

50%

25%

50%

65% of data

86% of data

3% of data

4% of data

3% of data

4% of data

z-Scores

EUPT1 EUPT2 EUPT3 EUPT4 EUPT5 EUPT6 EUPT7 EUPT8 EUPT9 EUPT10

12,753 EUPT z-Score Results over the 10 tests12,753 EUPT z-Score Results over the 10 tests

©A.R. Fernández-Alba

Fitness-for-purpose target standard deviation

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

25% FFP-RSD

EUPT-1 EUPT-2 EUPT-3 EUPT-4 EUPT-5 EUPT-6 EUPT-7 EUPT-8 EUPT-9 EUPT-100

10

20

30

40

50

60

25% FFP-RSD

EUPT-1 EUPT-2 EUPT-3 EUPT-4 EUPT-5 EUPT-6 EUPT-7 EUPT-8 EUPT-9 EUPT-10

©A.R. Fernández-Alba

Pesticides in fruit and vegetables

Standardised methods

• Easily available• Complete documentation• Proven performance• Acceptance• Consensus• Market driven

Examples of international standardsfor food & feed analysis

EN 16158:2012semduramicin in animal feeding stuffs

ISO 11053:2009foreign fats in dark chocolate

EN 15911:2010nine sweeteners in soft drinks and canned and bottled fruits

EN 15890:2010patulin in fruit juice and fruit purée

EN 15850:2010 & EN 15851:2010

zearalenone and aflatoxin B1 in cereal products for infants and young children

- Regulation (EC) No 999/2001BSE/TSE testing

- Directive 98/83/ECradioactivity in drinking water

- Commission Decision 2008/433/ECmineral oil in sunflower oil

- Directive 2000/36/ECforeign fats in milk chocolate

- Directive 88/378/EECheavy metals in toys

- Commission Decision 2008/798/ECmelamine in milk products

Examples of food policy support

Joint Research Centre (JRC)

Robust science for policy making

Web: www.jrc.ec.europa.eu

Contact: franz.ulberth@ec.europa.eu