Perspective. European Union reference laboratories for residue analysis: a quality challenge

Abstract

An overview is presented of the recent strategic developments within the European Union (EU) for regulatory residue analysis of food of animal origin. The strategy is based on four supporting corner stones (minimum quality criteria, reference materials, manuals of methods and workshops) and on a whole series of hierarchically ranked and linked laboratories: routine or field laboratories (RFL), national reference laboratories (NRL) and EU community reference laboratories (CRL). The driving and coordinating force within this EU system are the four CRLs for residues and contaminants, designated in December 1991 and implemented in August 1993. Their powers and mandates are summarized. Also a comparison is presented of the differences between the two quality assurance (QA) systems applied at the RIVM/CRL for veterinary hormonal anabolic agents: good laboratory practice (GLP)versus accreditation based on EN 45001. The GLP proved to be the more flexible QA system, being particularly suitable for reference purposes. The EN 45001 based QA is more suitable for repetitive routine work. However, in practice both QA systems can be combined into one compatible QA regime with relatively little additional effort.