Outsourcing PTs in the UK using

the European Food Law

Scheme

Shona Neal UK NRL for Food Microbiology

• UK-NRL structure

• Background to proficiency testing and provider

• OCL participation

• Example of European Food Microbiology legislation

Scheme (EFL) sample

• Preparation for Campylobacter Process Hygiene Criteria

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Content

UK – NRL

3

Food microbiology NRL –

Public Health England (PHE)

Close liaison with Animal and

Plant Health Agency (APHA) –

Animal & Feed NRL

(Antimicrobial resistance,

Campylobacter, Salmonella)

UK Structure

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Other

laboratories

Official Control

Laboratories

National Reference Laboratory

UK’s Competent Authority

Food Standards

Agency (FSA)

PHE

FW&E network

(n= 3)

Other official control labs

(n=11)

Gastrointestinal

Bacteria

Reference Unit

(GBRU)

APHA

Campylobacter

EURL

Six core functions

1. Secretariat services (mostly

disseminating information)

2. Advice and representation within the

UK/EU (FSA, OCLs, other labs)

3. Production of standard operating

procedures, codes of practice and

guidance documents

4. Compliance assessment via audits

and ring trials (PTs and training!)

5. Co-ordination within the UK of EURL

initiatives

6. Communication of results and data

use

• Three dedicated staff for the NRL:

• Shona Neal, NRL Lead Scientist

• Amisha Vibhakar, NRL Project

Scientist

• Kalpna Lakhani, NRL

PA/Administrator

•Other key UK staff (Campylobacter):

• Jim McLauchlin, Project Lead and

Lead Microbiologist for PHE FW&E

Network

• Frieda Jorgensen, FW&E Senior

Scientist

• Kathie Grant, Head of GBRU

• Craig Swift, GBRU Clinical Scientist

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PTs for the UK OCLs

An audit was performed by the NRL to all 16 OCLs in 2013. It revealed:

• PT participation not standardised for UK OCLs

• Participation in multiple PT organisers (e.g., FEPTU, FSA, LGC,

CEFAS)

• Not possible to compare PT performance across all OCLs

NRL identified a scheme run by the Food & Environmental Proficiency

Test Unit (FEPTU)

European Food Microbiology Legislation Scheme

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European Food Microbiology Legislation Scheme

• Laboratories that examine foods for compliance with Regulation (EC)

2073/2005 and subsequent amendments

• Participants decide which examination and detection/enumeration required

• 12 simulated samples sent out in 4 batches each year

• Meat

• Dairy

• Ready-to-eat

• Miscellaneous

• The samples are LENTICULTED mixtures of organisms

• Unique scheme running for nine years

• Scheme is accredited against ISO 17043:2010: Competency assessment –

General requirements for proficiency testing

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Outsourcing PTs for the UK OCLs • The UK NRL fund participation of all OCLs in PHE European

Food Microbiology Legislation Scheme since 2014

• UK’s Competent Authority (FSA) have approved this outsourcing

• Between 11 and 13 UK OCLs sign up annually

Benefits

• Better awareness and understanding of the legislation

• Train staff in the specific methods used and maintains

competence

• Support available for long-term poor performance (none yet!)

• Experts (FEPTU) running the scheme, whilst UK-NRL can

focus on other core functions and still liaise closely with FEPTU

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Assessment of performance

• Identity of individual laboratories not known by NRL

• Consolidated report for all UK OCLs produced for each distribution, advice

and lessons learnt produced

• All laboratories encouraged to perform root cause analysis of poor

performance

• Poor laboratory performance:

• Failure to detect a pathogen or counts > or < 3 sd from participants’ mean

• If poor laboratory performance detected over three separate distributions

• Written invitation sent to laboratory from scheme provider asking if they would like

assistance from the NRL

• If poor laboratory performance over six distributions

• Competent authority informed

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Listeria EURL’s outsourcing PT guidance

• UK NRL nominated a participant on

the guidance working group

• The document has been circulated

amongst the EURLs and EC micro

criteria working group

• UK complies to most of the

guidance…

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UK-NRL differences in practice

EURL Guidance states… EFL scheme does…

Three contamination levels of known

organism

Organism is unknown and differs in

concentration, dependent on the

scenario/matrix

Using food matrices (simulates real

life samples)

Using lenticules (less time consuming,

more stable and generates consistent

comparable data)

Enumeration analysis using z-scores Scoring to correctly report micro

criteria and organism(s), batch

information, laboratory result and

conclusion. Enumeration based on

MADe and ‘0.5 log10 rule’

Guidance is (currently) only for Listeria UK-NRL is responsible for six areas →

if food matrices are required, this

would need significant human and

financial resources

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Example from EFL scheme – EFL 121

• RTE salad containing sprouted bean shoots, during shelf-life

• containing Listeria monocytogenes (50 cfu), Salmonella Anatum (33),

Enterococcus faecalis (37) and Escherichia coli (92)

• Participants should test under 1.2, 1.18/1.19 and 1.29 in micro criteria

• 11/13 OCLs returned results for this sample

Listeria enumeration (1.2)

• 10/11 OCLs correctly reported under 1.2

• 1 OCL reported under 1.3

• All used ISO 11290-2

• Participants’ median = 79 cfu (1.90 log10)

• Standard deviation of participants results = 0.29 log10

• FEPTU QC median = 49 cfu (1.70 log10)

• 10 OCLs interpreted and reported result correctly, scoring 8/8.

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Example – EFL 121 (cont) Salmonella detection (1.18/1.19)

• 11/11 OCLs correctly reported (8/8 points) under 1.18

• All used ISO 6579

STEC detection (1.29) – recent amendment to EU 2073/2005 in 2013

• 5/11 tested and correctly reported not detected

• 5/11 reported that STEC detection is required as part of 1.29

• These labs do not perform STEC detection

• 7/11 stated that ISO 13136 was used (or should be used)

• 1 lab incorrectly used ISO 16654

• 1/11 did not report that STEC is required

This is an improvement from sample sent in 2015 (EFL095)

• 2/12 tested for STEC under ISO 13136

• 5/12 stipulated STEC was required

• 4/12 did not examine

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One problem…. • EFL scheme does not include Campylobacter, because it is based on EU

2073/2005!

• FSA supported a PT scheme in spiked chicken neck-skin rinses but only for

a handful of OCLs – now ceased

• Therefore, UK-NRL have arranged to fund OCL participation to one

distribution of FEPTU’s Standard scheme in 2017-18 year

• Selected distribution 300, which contains Campylobacter detection and

enumeration

• Disadvantage is that participants know in advance what to test, as organism

content are known

• Dispatched in January 2018, 12/14 have consented for NRL to access their

results via anonymous reporting

FEPTU will include Campylobacter in the EFL scheme from 2018-19

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Training for OCL personnel

• Campylobacter workshop for detection and enumeration for UK OCLs

25th – 26th January 2017 • Eight people attended the two day course

• Theoretical and practical content, including;

• Processing samples

• Reading and interpreting colony counts and morphology

• Confirmatory tests for presumptive identification

• Sneaked in a RT-PCR demo too!

• Feedback was overall good

• Also organised similar workshop in October 2014

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Acknowledgements

• PHE FWE Microbiology Network

• PHE Food and Environment Proficiency Testing Unit

• The UK OCLs, FSA and the Campylobacter EURL!

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