Following the successful 13th edition of the Workshop for rabies in Warsaw, a satisfaction survey was sent to all attendees. The aim of this survey is to inquire about the level of satisfaction regarding the workshop, as well as other EURL activities. Preliminary results indicates a positive feedback of the National Reference Laboratories as ninety eight percent of their responses indicated “satisfactory“ and “quite satisfactory“ evaluations on the EURL activities. As we are always trying to improve our quality of service and because your opinion is important to us, do not hesitate to contact us for suggestions, ideas or comments about the EURL activities. To contact us, please write at rabies.eu-rl@anses.fr.   The full report is available for download in the restricted part of the website following this link : sitesv2.anses.fr/en/minisite/rabies/former-workshops-documents    

A call for registration to the inter-laboratory test for tetracycline determination will be send in September 2022 to NRLs from European Union and bordering countries implicated in oral vaccination programmes. The Panel will have to be tested in October 2022. Tetracycline is widely used as biomarker for rabies vaccine bait uptake evaluation. After its consumption, the antibiotic is incorporated into bones and teeth in vaccinated fox population. The goal of the ILT is to evaluate the laboratories capacities to detect the tetracycline in red fox teeth’s as well as the age category of foxes. A report on this trial should be issued in the end of 2022

The Secretariat of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) of the United Kingdom are proud to announce that the first International Plant Health Conference (IPHC) will take place from 21 to 23 September 2022 at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in London, United Kingdom.  As one of the main legacies of the International Year of Plant Health 2020, the Conference was originally planned to take place in 2020 and hosted by Finland, but had to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.   The Conference will convene countries from around the world to discuss global scientific, technical and regulatory issues related to plant health aiming to contribute to a number of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, amongst other objectives. This three-day event will take place in a hybrid mode. All IPHC sessions and side events are going to be streamed online but participants are also encouraged to take part to the event in person. The UK and DEFRA welcome and encourage the participation of the global plant health community to come together and discuss future challenges, including climate change, transboundary pests and the development and use of international standards and guidance   More information and application

GFRA Meeting will be in Kampala, Uganda from 8-10 November 2023. For more information, here is the link.

During two half days, the beautiful city of Warsaw welcomed the participants of the annual meeting organized by the EURL for rabies on 15 and 16 June 2022. This year’s edition was marked by the absolute pleasure of meeting back again and was home to very constructive exchanges on various rabies topics, as well as future collaborative works and exchanges. Additionally to the representative of the European Commission, Thierry Chalus, and representatives from  the World Organisation for Animal Health, (WOAH) (previously known as “OIE”) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the EURL team was pleased to welcome Laurent Dacheux from the Pasteur institute of Paris. Presentations showcased during the workshop can be found on the EURL website via this link (for network members only). On a final note, The EURL team would like to warmly thank all the participants as well as all the individuals who contributed in way or another to the organization of this wonderful moment. See you next year for the 14th edition of the workshop for rabies.

The Centre is celebrating the publication of its second scientific paper as a result of the work carried out in Activity 3 in 2020 and 2021. This study aimed at investigating the pertinence of different animal-based indicators (ABIs) for the assessment of broiler’s state of consciousness after waterbath stunning (WBS) before and during bleeding. This article named "Inter-Observer Repeatability of Indicators of Consciousness after Waterbath Stunning in Broiler Chickens" is available here.

Julien Parinet presented the work done in the framework of the ANR AlimOmic during the ALEXS Exposome Summer School, 2022 in Rennes from the 8th to 10th of June. It was a great opportunity to connect with the research community, to discuss various subjects and also strat new collaborations. https://www.irset.org/fr/evenements/alexs-2022-atlantic-exposome-summer-school  

Julien Parinet presented the work done in the framework of the ANR AlimOmic during the JPFSA in Marrakech (Morocco) on June 2 and 3, 2022. The opportunity to exchange with the analytical chemists of Morocco and to establish a number of contacts for the future.   http://jpfsa.com/  

Yassine Makni has published its first article in Food Chem as first author (second article) and Thierno Diallo its second article (but this time as second author). Congratulation! Abstract: A screening method was developed for the multi-residue analysis of pesticides in baby foods using QuEChERS and UHPLC-Q-TOF. For sample preparation, the two-buffered versions of QuEChERS and different purification procedures were studied. False negatives and false positives were determined using different thresholds mentioned in the literature on the retention time and accurate mass measurement detection criteria. To reach unequivocal identification, the fragmentation spectra of the pesticides were used. The information-dependant-acquisition (IDA) mode was optimized with a precursor-inclusion list (PIL) to limit the loss of MS/MS data. Then, the experimental fragmentation spectra were compared to those included in a homemade library, by assessing different MS/MS algorithms and similarity scores. The optimised method was validated according to SANTE/11312/2021 guidelines. 95% and 73% of the pesticides presented a screening detection limit (SDL) and a limit of identification (LOI) ≤ 0.1 mg.kg−1. One plasticizer was found in the investigated samples by a suspect-screening approach. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2022.133573

Launch of a new Better Training for Safer Food (BTSF) training programme on Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat foods and on the studies to be implemented to satisfactorily meet the requirements of Regulation (EC) 2073/2005 on microbiological criteria for food. ​ This training programme was developed by the EURL for Listeria monocytogenes (Lm), in collaboration with Competent Authorities and National Reference Laboratories for Lm in Europe. ​ The first training session of this BTSF was held from 21 to 24 June in Trim, Ireland. 26 participants from 13 European countries, mainly inspectors of the competent authorities, actively participated in this training and left satisfied with the organisation (work in groups, convivial diners) and the content of the latter which allowed them to acquire a better understanding of the regulation and to have an increased level of expertise at the end of the session. More information on the next three sessions is available on the BTSF website: https://btsfacademy.eu/training/course/info.php?id=338