We are pleased to announce you that Commission Regulation (EU) 2019/229 of 7 February 2019, amending EC Regulation (EC) No 2073/2005 on microbiological criteria for foodstuffs, has been published on 8 February 2019.

It modifies in particular:

• Article 5 on the conditions of validation/certification of alternative methods;
• Reference methods in Annex II further to the EC Mandate to CEN.

• In particular, in criterion 1.21, the method to detect staphylococcal enterotoxins (SE) in dairy products: the “European screening method of the CRL for coagulase positive staphylococci” is replaced by the Standard EN ISO 19020.

As specified in Article 3 of this amendment, this Regulation shall enter into force on 28 February 2019. (the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union on 8 February 2019).

Bertrand LOMBARD organised on 13 December the 2nd web-meeting of a working group preparing a guidance document on the organisation of proficiency tests (PTs) by NRLs for the national networks of official laboratories they coordinate.

This EURLs working group is composed of representatives from EURLs Salmonella, Campylobacter, VTEC, Listeria monocytogenes and Coagulase Positive Staphylococci,

The draft is based on a EURL Listeria monocytogenes document dealing with partial outsourcing of PTs organised by NRLs. The scope of the document being drafted is now wider.

This document should be finalised in 2019 and will be circulated to the respective NRL networks for consultation.

Yacine NIA and Isabelle MUTEL organised a training session held in our permises in Maisons-Alfort (FR) on 11-12 December 2018.

This training session was dedicated to the detection of Staphylococcal Enterotoxins according to the European Screening method and the new EN ISO 19020.

NRLs Participants :

• Ivana IVANOVIC - Agroscope of Switzerland;
• Thorsten BLUME - SpiezLab of Switzerland;
• Marina DOUKA - Department of Food Hygiene of Athens of Greece.

Bertrand LOMBARD participated virtually (teleconference) to a part of the last meeting of the Working Group 3 on method validation of the subcommitte ISO/TC 34/SC 9 “Food products-Microbiology”.

It took place on 4-6 December 2018 at Sciensano (BE-NRL for Listeria monocytogenes & coagulase positive staphylococci, Brussels).

WG 3 is in charge of developing the series EN ISO 16140 on method validation/verification in food chain microbiology.

This meeting was mainly dedicated to the preparation of the final vote, further to the ISO/DIS vote and CEN Enquiry, on the 4 following parts:

• Part 3: method verification;
• Part 4: method validation in a single laboratory;
• Part 5: factorial interlaboratory validation for non-proprietary methods;
• Part 6: validation of alternative (proprietary) methods for microbiological confirmation and typing procedures.

The final votes are expected to be launched by mid-2019. B. Lombard ensured a liaison with WG 2 which provides a statistical expertise to prepare these standards.

On 19 and 20 September 2018, Yacine NIA organised at the NRL a training session at AGES, the Autrian NRL for CPS in Graz. This training session was dedicated to the detection of Staphylococcal Enterotoxins according to the European Screening method. Sigrid Fleck, Kornelia Voetsch, Kathrin Hauser, Andrea Kormann-Klement took part to the practical session.

Yacine NIA from EURL CPS and Kati MIELKE from BfR (DE NRL) organised on 6th September a technical meeting on the confirmatory ELISA for Staphylococcal Enterotoxins in food matrices.