EUPT-SRM8- Announcement / Invitation

Dear Colleagues,

We herewith cordially invite you to participate in the upcoming European Proficiency Test on pesticide residue analysis using single residue methods (EUPT-SRM8) organised by the EU Reference Laboratory for pesticides requiring Single Residue Methods (EURL-SRM).

The EUPT-SRM8 is scheduled to run from 15 April to 17 May 2013.

AIMS:

Participation in proficiency tests is part of the QA/QC system of laboratories and provides them with an assessment of their analytical performance as well as a comparison with the performance of other laboratories. The general aim is to help laboratories demonstrate adequate analytical performance and, in case of underperformance, to help them identify sources of errors so that the necessary measures for quality improvement can be taken.

TEST ITEM and BLANK MATERIAL:

The Test Item will be POTATO HOMOGENATE spiked with various pesticides from the Target Pesticides List.

Ca. 350 g of treated Test Item and ca. 350 g of a blank test material will be delivered to each participating lab. As the amount of available material is limited, additional material will be delivered only if sufficient explanations are given by the requesting laboratory.

The 'blank' material is intended to be used for recovery experiments and, if necessary, for the preparation of matrix-matched calibration standard solutions.

To request double amount of material (700 g Test Item and 700 g Blank) please contact EURL-SRM@cvuas.bwl.de.

TARGET ANALYTES:

The list of analytes potentially contained in the Test Item is shown in the Target Pesticides List. For each of the analytes a specific minimum required reporting level (MRRL) is given.

The names of the pesticides contained in the Test Item and their assigned concentrations will be undisclosed to the participants after the test.

SHIPMENT AND RECEIPT OF TEST ITEM:

The shipment of the Test Item is planned to start on 15 April 2013. If any laboratory will be on holiday in the week of the shipment, please inform the organizer to rearrange shipment.

Participants must check the integrity and condition of the Test Item upon receipt and to report within 48 h if they accept the materials or not. For this please use the "EUPT-SRM8 Result Submission website (sub-page 0). In case of no reaction the organizers will assume that the material has been accepted.

OBLIGED AND ELIGIBLE LABS:

Participation in the EUPT-SRM8 is mandatory for:

all NRLs for pesticides requiring Single Residue Methods (NRL-SRMs); according to Art. 33 of Reg. 882/2004/EC,
all Official Laboratories (OLs) undertaking pesticide residue analyses in food of high water content (fruits and vegetables) within the frame of National and EU official controls (see Art. 28 of EC Reg. 396/2005).

Please note that laboratories analyzing pesticide residues within the frame of import controls according to Reg. 669/2009/EC are also considered as performing official controls and thus also obliged to take part in EUPTs.

Based on the information stored in the Lab-Network Database about the commodity scope and the status of each lab, a tentative list of the labs obliged to participate in the EUPT-SRM8 was prepared (Download from here: "List of Obliged Labs to EUPTs in 2013", note that this list does only consider the commodity scope but not the pesticide scope of the labs).

Laboratories are asked to carefully check this list:

- OLs should check the information concerning their own lab and report any errors
- NRLs should also check the information of all OLs within their network and report any error.
Errors should be reported to eurl-srm@cvuas.bwl.de

This EUPT is furthermore open to all national reference laboratories (NRLs) and Official laboratories (OLs) in from EU-candidate countries and EFTA countries.

The PT is also open to labs from Third Countries (countries outside EU) as long as test material is available and provided that DG-SANCO gives its consent.

REGISTRATION:

To register for this PT please...

EU, EFTA and EU-Candidate Country Labs: access the "EUPT-Registration Website" (accessible from 18 Feb. to 12 Mar 2013). Should your lab be missing from the drop-down list please contact us ASAP: eupt-srm@cvuas.bwl.de
Third Country labs: please contact us (eupt-srm@cvuas.bwl.de) for further instructions (by 12 Mar 2013)

OBLIGED LABS NOT PARTICIPATING:

DG-SANCO expects from all obliged labs* that do not intent to participate in this EUPT to give an explanation. This explanation can be given in the EUPT-Registration Website (accessible from 18 Feb. to 12 Mar 2013).

All obliged labs should thus access the Registration Website irrespective if they intend to participate or not!!

* "Obliged labs": Labs included in the "List of Obliged Labs" as well as any other labs that according to the rules are obliged to participate but for whatever reasons are not included in the list.

IMPORTANT DATES:

The "EUPT-Registration Website" will be accessible from 18 Feb to 12 Mar 2013.
Interested Third Country labs please contact us ( eurl-srm@cvuas.bwl.de ) by 12 Mar 2013
The shipment of the test materials is planned for 15 Apr 2013 (if any laboratories have holidays in the week of the shipment, please inform the organiser to rearrange shipment - as soon as possible).
Submission of results and method information should be done by 13 May 2013 by 14:00 CET on the "EUPT-SRM8 Result Submission website" (sub-pages 1-3), THERE WILL NOT BE NO DEADLINE EXTENSION!!

PAYMENT DETAILS:

A general fee of 175 € will be charged to each participating laboratory from EU Member States, EU-candidate countries or EFTA countries, to cover the costs of handling and shipment.

The participation fee for labs from third countries is set at 250 €.

The fee for the laboratories requiring double amount of material will be also double as two identical parcels will be sent (i.e. 350 € for EU-, EFTA- and EU-Candidate County labs and 500 € for Third Country labs).

On registration an invoice will be sent to the "invoice address" stated in the registration form. Payment is expected to be made completely prior to the scheduled shipment date. No test material will be sent to labs from which no payment has been received by the shipment date. Details of payment will be given in the invoices.

The bank data of the EURL-SRM is shown here: EURL-SRM Bank Data

RELEVANT DOCUMENTS:

All documents relating to EUPT-SRM7 will be uploaded onto the CIRCA-platform and linked to the EUPT-SRM8-Website.

The schedule for all activities and deadlines within this PT can be found on the Calendar for the EUPT-SRM8.

The list of pesticides potentially present in the Test Item can be found here: Target Pesticides List

In due time before the start of the EUPT-SRM8, the EUPT-SRM8 Specific Protocol will be published

Please also refer to the valid version General EUPT Protocol, which entails the general evaluation rules of EUPTs.

GENERAL INFORMATION, CONFIDENTIALITY, DISCLAIMER (PLEASE READ CAREFULLY!!) :

The EUPT-SRM8 is organized by the EURL-SRM on behalf of DG-SANCO. DG-SANCO is the proprietor of all EUPT data and has thus access to all information. The EURL-FV will be subcontracted for the preparation of the material.
In each EUPT, the laboratories are given a unique code, initially only known to themselves and the organisers. In the final EUPT-Report, the list of participating laboratories will not be linked to their laboratory codes.
The Organizers are allowed to provide NRLs with the EUPT-SRM8 codes of all OLs in their respective networks. This will allow NRLs to correlate the laboratories within their network and their performance.
The Organizer further reserves the right to share EUPT results and codes with other EURLs.
The Organisers may further present the EUPT-results on a country-by-country basis. For those countries where only one laboratory has participated, the identity of certain labs could thus be indirectly revealed.
Payment is expected to be made completely prior to the scheduled shipment date. No test material will be sent to labs from which no payment has been received by the shipment date.
The participating laboratories are not allow to communicate with each other on matters concerning the EUPT from the start of the EUPT until the publicationn of the preliminary report.
All laboratories are requested to provide information on analytical methods used. If no sufficient information on the methodology used is provided, the Organisers reserve the right not to accept the analytical results reported by the participants concerned.
Please note that all documents mentioned above may be subject to minor changes. In the case of important changes, participants will be informed by e-mail. But still please check periodically our website for possible updates in case the email does not get through to you.

SUPPORT:

The EUPT- SRM8 Organizing Team is always at your disposal to answer any questions and give you
technical support. For any further questions about the EUPT-SRM8, please mail to EURL-SRM@cvuas.bwl.de.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Address of EUPT-Organizer

EURL-SRM
c/o Chemisches und Veterinäruntersuchungsamt Stuttgart
Schaflandstrasse 3/2
DE-70736 Fellbach
E-mail eurl-srm@cvuas.bwl.de

EURL-SRM Organizing Team:

Michelangelo Anastassiades, phone: +49-711-3426-1124
Pat Schreiter, ext. -1029
Hubert Zipper, ext. -1141
Daniela Roux, ext. -1120
Anja Barth, ext. -1125
Dorothea Mack, ext. -1118

EUPT Scientific Committee:

Amadeo R. Fernández-Alba (Adv-G) Co-Head of EURL-FV; University of Almería, Spain
Miguel Gamón (Adv-G) Co-Head of EURL-FV; Pesticide Residue Laboratory (Agro-Food Analysis Service) of the Generalitat Valenciana, Spain
André de Kok (Adv-G) Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (VWA), Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Ralf Lippold (AdvG) Head of EURL-AO; CVUA freiburg, Germany
Sonja Masselter (Adv-G) AGES Competence Center for Residues of Plant Protection Products, Innsbruck, Austria.
Tuija Pihlström (Adv-G) National Food Administration, Uppsala, Sweden
Stewart Reynolds (QC-G) Food and Environment Research Agency, York, United Kingdom
Mette Erecius Poulsen (Adv-G) Head of EURL-CF; DTU National Food Institute, Søborg, Denmark
Carmelo Rodríguez (Adv-G) University of Almería, Spain
Antonio Valverde (QC-G) University of Almería, Spain
Magnus Jezussek (Adv-G) Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority, Erlangen, Germany
Darinka Štajnbaher (Adv-G) Public Health Institute, Maribor, Slovenia

Adv-G= Advisory Group; QC-G= Quality Control Group

Best regards,

The EUPT-SRM8 Organising Team

Published 08-01-2013, 12:30:39