caa a22 4500 605466084 CHVBK 20210128100305.0 cr unu---uuuuu 210128e20151001xx s 000 0 eng 10.1007/s00769-015-1153-0 doi (NATIONALLICENCE)springer-10.1007/s00769-015-1153-0 Ad hoc material for proficiency testing: freeze-dried liver [Elektronische Daten] [Andrea Colabucci, Alessandra Sepe, Maria Ciprotti, Laura Ciaralli] One of the tasks of European Union Reference Laboratories (EURLs) for feed and food is the organization of proficiency testing (PTs) for the network of National Reference Laboratories (NRLs) of EU member states according to the area of competence. This crucial assignment leads the EURL for Chemical Elements in Food of Animal Origin (EURL-CEFAO) to plan PTs that include various chemical element/matrix/concentration combinations in order to organize a profitable exercise for its network. The purpose of this paper was to describe the "step-by-step” preparation of a PT material and the efforts of an EURL to provide proper test items to national laboratories (NRLs). The exercise was tailored to train participants and give them the opportunity to practice around the maximum levels (MLs) set in EU legislation, values at which sample acceptance is the critical issue. The EURL strategy has been chosen considering the role of the NRLs that could be summoned as third party in legal controversies. A PT on the determination of cadmium and lead in freeze-dried liver was then scheduled. The goal was to achieve a sample with a mass fraction (w) of the elements around the ML (0.50mg/kg for both). Preliminary studies allowed the EURL to calculate the amount of spike to reach the target mass fractions. The target Cd and Pb mass fractions were in good agreement with the contents found in the frame of the homogeneity test as well as with the consensus values derived from the results reported by the PT participants. This proved the suitability of the production procedures and the quality of the delivered PT test items. Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg, 2015 EU legislation nationallicence Cadmium nationallicence Lead nationallicence Offal nationallicence Proficiency tests nationallicence European Union Reference Laboratory nationallicence Colabucci Andrea European Union Reference Laboratory for Chemical Elements in Food of Animal Origin (EURL-CEFAO), Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy aut Sepe Alessandra Department of Food Safety and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy aut Ciprotti Maria European Union Reference Laboratory for Chemical Elements in Food of Animal Origin (EURL-CEFAO), Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy aut Ciaralli Laura European Union Reference Laboratory for Chemical Elements in Food of Animal Origin (EURL-CEFAO), Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy aut Accreditation and Quality Assurance Springer Berlin Heidelberg 20/5(2015-10-01), 367-372 0949-1775 20:5<367 2015 20 769 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00769-015-1153-0 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI BK010053 XK010053 XK010000 Metadata rights reserved Springer special CC-BY-NC licence nationallicence 1 research-article jats NATIONALLICENCE NATIONALLICENCE NL-springer NATIONALLICENCE 856 40 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00769-015-1153-0 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Colabucci Andrea European Union Reference Laboratory for Chemical Elements in Food of Animal Origin (EURL-CEFAO), Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Sepe Alessandra Department of Food Safety and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Ciprotti Maria European Union Reference Laboratory for Chemical Elements in Food of Animal Origin (EURL-CEFAO), Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Ciaralli Laura European Union Reference Laboratory for Chemical Elements in Food of Animal Origin (EURL-CEFAO), Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy aut NATIONALLICENCE 773 0- Accreditation and Quality Assurance Springer Berlin Heidelberg 20/5(2015-10-01), 367-372 0949-1775 20:5<367 2015 20 769