A delegation from the Republic of Montenegro visits CNA
Date: 19 mayo 2017
Section: Seguridad Alimentaria
As part of the European Commission Technical Assistance and Information Exchange (TAIEX) and in cooperation with the Spanish Agency for Consumer Affairs, Food Safety and Nutrition, a working visit has been organised from a delegation from the Republic of Montenegro on the determination of the four PAHs legislated in the European Union (EU Regulation No 1881/2006) and the analysis of veterinary drug residues included in groups A1 (stilbenes), A3 (steroids), A4 (Resorcyclic acid lactones) and A5 (beta-agonists), as established in European legislation (Directive 2008/97/EC amending Council Directive 96/22/EC, Council Directive 96/23/EC and Commission Decision 2002/657/EC).
The visit was organised as a five-day theoretical and practical course for three technical experts. It was held at the National Food Centre from 3 to 7 April 2017 under the coordination of the Head of the Chemicals Division, Dr Pedro A. Burdaspal.
The activities during the course were divided into two parts. The first two days took place at the Toxins and PAHs Unit, and PAHs tests were conducted using High Performance Liquid Chromatography with fluorimetric detection in an edible oil and on a smoked meat product. Participants also attended a series of theoretical sessions on general aspects regarding the PAHs: toxicology, notifications and presence in food, European legislation and, lastly, requirements for testing, internal validation and quality control.
The next three days were held at the Animal Health Product Residue Service with tests for hormones (stilbenes-A1-, steroids-A3- and resorcyclic acid lactones -A4-) in urine using Liquid chromatography with a Mass-Spectrometric detector and the analysis of beta-agonist residues in urine also using the same technique. In addition, the participants attended a series of theoretical sessions on internal validation in accordance with Commission Decision 2002/657/EC, quality control and European legislation on veterinary drug residue testing.
The teaching team included Esther Sierra, Almudena Illescas, Isabel García - León and Rafael Cabanillas (Toxin and PAHs Unit) and Patricia Moreno and José Blanca (Animal Health Product Residue Service).