Duties of the EU Reference Laboratory for Brucellosis
[relayed from European Commission]
EU Reference Laboratories (EURLs) aim to ensure high-quality, uniform testing in the EU and support Commission activities on risk management and risk assessment in the area of laboratory analysis. Regulation (EC) No 882/2004 on official controls defines tasks, duties and requirements for all the EURLs, a list of which is provided in its Annex VII. The Commission can establish new EURLs or change designation of existing ones. The European Parliament and the Council adopted the new Official Controls Regulation No 2017/625 on 15 March 2017. The new rules will gradually become applicable with the main application date being 14 December 2019.
European Union reference laboratories designated in accordance with Article 93(1) shall be responsible for the following tasks insofar as they are included in the reference laboratories’ annual or multiannual work programmes that have been established in conformity with the objectives and priorities of the relevant work programmes adopted by the Commission in accordance with Article 36 of Regulation (EU) No 652/2014.
TO ENSURE AVAILABILITY & USE OF HIGH QUALITY METHODS AND TO ENSURE HIGH QUALITY PERFORMANCE BY NRLs
Art. 94.2.a Providing national reference laboratories with details and guidance on the methods of laboratory analysis, testing or diagnosis, including reference methods.
Art. 94.2.b Providing reference materials to national reference laboratories.
Art. 94.2.c Coordinating the application by the national reference laboratories and, if necessary, by other official laboratories of the methods referred to in point (a), in particular, by organising regular inter-laboratory comparative testing or proficiency tests (PTs) and by ensuring appropriate follow-up, and informing the Commission and the Member States of the results and follow-up. In order to register to future ILPTs, please consult LEILA, our online platform: https://leila.anses.fr/
Art. 94.2.l Where relevant for their area of competence, cooperate among themselves and with the Commission, as appropriate, to develop methods of analysis, testing or diagnosis of high standards.
TO PROVIDE SCIENTIFIC & TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO NRLs
Assistance, training sessions, workshop
Art.94.2.d Coordinating practical arrangements necessary to apply new methods of laboratory analysis, testing or diagnosis, and informing national reference laboratories of advances in this field.
Art. 94.2.e Conducting training courses for staff from national reference laboratories and, if needed, from other official laboratories, as well as of experts from third countries.
Art. 94.2.g Providing information on relevant national, Union and international research activities to national reference laboratories.
TO PROVIDE SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION & OTHER ORGANISATIONS
Art. 94.2.f Providing scientific and technical assistance to the Commission within the scope of their mission.
Art. 94.2.h Collaborating within the scope of their mission with laboratories in third countries and with the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
Art. 94.2.i Assisting actively in the diagnosis of outbreaks in Member States of foodborne, zoonotic or animal diseases, or of pests of plants, by carrying out confirmatory diagnosis, characterisation and taxonomic or epizootic studies on pathogen isolates or pest specimens.
REAGENTS AND REFERENCE COLLECTIONS
Art. 94.2.j Coordinating or performing tests for the verification of the quality of reagents and lots of reagents used for the diagnosis of foodborne, zoonotic or animal diseases and pests of plants.
Art. 94.2.k Where relevant for their area of competence, establishing and maintaining:
i. reference collections of pests of plants and/or reference strains of pathogenic agents;
ii. reference collections of materials intended to come into contact with food used to calibrate analytical equipment and provide samples thereof to national reference laboratories;
iii. up-to-date lists of available reference substances and reagents and of manufacturers and suppliers of such substances and reagents.