EURL CPS has published an article on the enterotoxigenic properties of the CPS Staphylococcus argenteus. You are welcome to read and download the final version of this article on ScienceDirect until May 12, 2023  https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168160523000983?dgcid=author  

On 3 May 2023, in Brussels, will take place a high-level conference presenting the results of a two-year European Parliament pilot project on Best practices for transitioning to higher welfare cage-free egg production systems. This pilot project is particularly relevant in the context of the Commission's commitment, in response to the European Citizen's Initiative End the Cage Age' to propose legislation to phase-out the use of cages for laying hens (and other species). The project aimed to help EU producers to convert conventional egg production systems to higher-welfare alternative systems and to guarantee them that they stay in business by providing practical guidance and recommendations on economic aspects. The findings of this project will also be used by the Commission in the current revision of the animal welfare legislation. To participate in the conference, you need to register by 18 April.  The conference will be web streamed. Click here to get access to the website where the agenda and registration link are available If you have any questions, please get in touch with  info@bestpracticehens.eu.

The SAT2 FMDV previously identified in Iraq and Jordan has recently been identified in Türkiye (Iğdır). The FMD symptoms were observed in cattle recently introduced into the farm. For more information: https://wahis.woah.org/#/in-review/4959

We are pleased to inform you that the revision of EURL Lm Guidance document on the competence of laboratories implementing shelf-life studies (Version 3 – 10 February 2023) has been adopted by EC Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed (PAFF Committee) at its meeting of 10 February 2023. This version is available on the DG SANTE website: link. You will be able to find also this link at the end of EURL Lm homepage: “Guidance documents”. This is the end of a revision cycle: started with the publication in 2019 of the first CEN ISO standard on shelf-life studies: EN ISO 20976-1 "Microbiology of the food chain - Requirements and guidelines for conducting challenge tests of food and feed products - Part 1: Challenge tests to study growth potential, lag time and maximum growth rate". EURL Lm had contributed to the development of the Standard through the WG19 "Guidelines for conducting challenge tests" of the ISO/TC 34/SC 9. Continued by the revision of the EURL Lm Technical Guidance Document Lm shelf-life studies endorsed by the member states on 01/07/2021: link. Many thanks once more to the representatives of 6 NRLs Lm which have collaborated with Hélène BERGIS and Ludivine BONANNO to draft this document.

The Centre is celebrating the production of two videos. The first is a presentation video of EURCAW Poultry-SFA which can be found on the website pages "Home" and "About Us" or directly here. The second one is on the assessment of the state of consciousness after waterbath stunning in broiler chickens which can be found on the website page "Stunning" or directly here.

[relayed from EUCAST]  EUCAST will during 2023, based on the work of theEMERGE AST Working Group, strive to publish clinical breakpoints and disk diffusion correlates for Brucella melitensis and Bacillus anthracis. Through the joint effort of the group and EUCAST, MIC and zone diameter distributions are now available. ECOFFs are under development and will be available soonest. For more  information:  Tscherne, A.; Mantel, E.; Boskani, T.; Budniak, S.; Elschner, M.; Fasanella, A.; Feruglio, S.L.; Galante, D.; Giske, C.G.; Grunow, R.; et al. Adaptation of Brucella melitensis Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing to the ISO 20776 Standard and Validation of the Method. Microorganisms 2022, 10, 1470. https://doi.org/10.3390/ microorganisms10071470 MIC EUCAST  

[relayed from abstract] This paper reports 2 cases of brucellosis in male patients who were hospitalized in distinct towns of French Guiana, an overseas territory of France located on the northeastern shore of South America. Both men were citizens of Brazil working as clandestine goldminers in the deep Amazonian rainforest. Characterization of the 2 bacterial isolates revealed that they represent a potential new species of Brucella: Brucella amazionensis. For more information:  About, F., Pastre, T., Boutrou, M., Martinez, A., Melzani, A., Peugny, S....Keriel, A. (2023). Novel Species of Brucella Causing Human Brucellosis, French Guiana. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 29(2), 333-340. https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2902.220725.

In order to start this new cycle of seminars in the WG HRMET (ANSES working group on HRMS and metabolomics), I would like to invite you to listen Jon Wong and Jian Wang on the use and value of HRMS to improve health surveillance. The seminar will be in English. - Jon is a researcher at the US FDA (food and drug administration) and a specialist in mass spectrometry and analysis of contaminants and pesticide residues in food https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jon-Wong-4 Jon Wong is a Research Chemist with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition located in College Park, Maryland, USA.  He was a Chemist at the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms from 1997-2002 and has been at FDA since 2002.  His work has focused on the development and validation of multiresidue pesticide methods using gas and liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry.  In the last ten years, he and Dr. Jian Wang from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, have collaborated and developed high resolution mass spectrometry workflows to analyze and screen for pesticides, mycotoxins, and veterinary drugs in food and other agricultural matrices.   Dr. Wong has BS degrees in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering from the University of California at Davis, a MS degree in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University, and a PhD in Agricultural and Environmental Chemistry from UC Davis.  He is a Board member of the AOAC Official Methods Board Committee and the North America Chemical Residue Workshop, an Associate Editor for the American Journal of Enology and Viticulture, and an Editorial Advisory Board member of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.  - Jian Wang is a researcher at the CFIA (Canadian Food Inspection Agency) also specializing in mass spectrometry and analysis of contaminants and pesticide residues in food https://profils-profiles.science.gc.ca/fr/profil/dr-jian-wang-phd?wbdisable=true Dr. Jian Wang received his PhD from University of Alberta. He has been working as a Research Scientist at the Calgary Laboratory, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, since 2002. He is in charge of Research and Development Unit in Calgary Laboratory, CFIA. His scientific expertise resides on research and method development using UHPLC/ESI-MS/MS, UHPLC/ESI QqTOF and UHPLC/ESI Q-Orbitrap for analysis of chemical contaminant residues including antibiotics, pesticides, etc. in food. He, along with Dr Jon Wong, FDA, and many other colleagues, is keen to promote Non-target Data Acquisition for Target Analysis (nDATA) using high resolution mass spectrometry for enhanced monitoring program of a large number of chemical contaminants and for flexible testing scope to increase sample throughput. Dr Wang also carries on research on food authenticity based on HRMS and metabolomics. Dr Wang is a member of Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues (CCPR). Vidéo Seminar

The Centre is celebrating the publication of its fourth scientific paper as a result of the work carried out in Activity 3 in 2021. In this study, we examined the validity of six methods for dust assessment in layer barns. The methods were either developed for the purpose or as a refinement of existing methods. Of the six methods examined, the dust sheet test with a test duration of 2–3 h was found to be the most promising method. This article named "Validation of methods for assessment of dust levels in layer barns" is available here.

The Centre is celebrating the publication of its third scientific paper as a result of the work carried out in Activity 3 in 2021 and 2022. The technical study aimed at evaluating the prevalence and the inter-observer repeatability of the most valid and feasible animal-based indicators (ABIs) of the state of consciousness after waterbath stunning (WBS) in turkeys before bleeding (tonic seizure, breathing, spontaneous blinking, and vocalization) and during bleeding (wing flapping, breathing, spontaneous swallowing, and head shaking). This article named "Relevant Indicators of Consciousness after Waterbath Stunning in Turkeys and Stunning Efficiency in Commercial Conditions" is available here.