TRC training activities

TITLE:   Development of Quality Assurance for Mycotoxin Analysis of Food and Feed

PLACE:    FAO/IAEA Agriculture and Biotechnology Laboratory, IAEA Laboratories, Seibersdorf, Austria

DATE:   30 August  - 9 September 2000

LANGUAGE:      The language of instruction will be English

PARTICIPATION:    The course is open to up to two participants form each IAEA Member State which is party to the RCA Agreement. Participants must be scientists with ample experience in mycotoxin analyses, head analysts and/or quality assurance officers working in official laboratories responsible for control of import and export food and feed.

PURPOSE OF THE COURSE:    Train participants in the establishment and implementation of an analytical quality system complying with Standard ISO/IEC 17025 (former Guide ISO/IEC 25) for accreditation of their mycotoxin laboratories

NATURE OF THE COURSE:   Mycotoxin contamination of foods and feeds continues to seriously affect the availability and safety of the food supply worldwide. The rules governing the handling of this and other food safety issues within the international food trade, are clearly stated in the WTO Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS). The SPS Agreement promotes harmonization and transparency of food safety regulations and measures, it also emphasizes the need for these measures to be based on sound science. Laboratory results are an integral part of sound science and quality assurance principles must be applied for these analytical results to be of true value.

The European Union has been, since 1998, in the process of establishing new and more stringent regulations for mycotoxins, including maximum limits for aflatoxin B1 and M1, ochratoxin A, patulin, with trichothecenes, zearalenone and fumonisins soon to follow. 

The near future incorporation of new members from Eastern Europe to its Common Market will pose more food safety challenges among which mycotoxin prevention and control will be key issues. This is due to the particular complexities involved in specific mycotoxin analytical challenges such as obtaining representative samples, homogeneity and low level detection for compliance with the new and low regulatory limits required in most cases. 

Only through the establishment of quality assurance systems in the laboratories can accurate and precise mycotoxin analytical results be produced which will meet these new food safety challenges and avoid trade barriers.

In order to obtain accreditation of analytical laboratories or certification of food industries, producers, retailers, etc., having a quality assurance system in place is not just an asset or a tool but an essential element. Accreditation and certification have been in increasing demand by importers and consumers worldwide as indicators of quality and food safety controls.

Countries that have applied appropriate food safety and quality assurance measures and can demonstrate objectively to have done so, such as through accreditation or certification, have easier access to international markets. It is essential that these countries remain up-to-date in relation to food safety information, technologies, analytical techniques and quality assurance principles in order to ensure that their food safety measures remain in line with international requirements. 

Many international mycotoxin meetings and conferences such as The FAO/IUPAC Workshop on Mycotoxin Prevention and Control, which took place during the IX IUPAC Symposium on Mycotoxins and Phycotoxins held in Rome, May 27-31 1996;The Third Joint FAO/WHO/UNEP International Conference on Mycotoxins held in Tunis from 3-6 March 1999, recommended that emphasis be placed on the establishment of quality assurance systems for mycotoxin analysis. 


Whether data from mycotoxin analyses are used in assessing risk from exposure within food surveillance programmes, as part of routine regulatory monitoring, or in the monitoring of standards for trading purposes, it is critical that these contaminants are correctly identified and reliably quantified. With adequate analytical quality assurance programmes, mycotoxin laboratories can get accurate and reliable results and can objectively demonstrate this capacity so that their results can be recognized worldwide. 

This Training Course on Quality Assurance for Mycotoxin Analysis for Eastern European Countries will give them a head start in preparation for full incorporation into the European Union by complying with the new mycotoxin requirements and the guidelines and tools for establishing a quality assurance system in their home laboratories.

Detail of lectures and time schedule:

For further information contact:

Mr. Bruno Doko
Food and Environmental Protection Section
Wagramerstrasse 5, P.O.Box 100
A-1400 Vienna, Austria
Fax: +43 1 26007