Impact of Surface to Water Volume Contact Ratio on the Biomass Production Potential of Products in Contact with Drinking Water

The biomass production potential (BPP) test is a semi-static test for assessment of growth promoting properties of construction products in contact with drinking water (CPDW) under defined conditions. The test is performed at the product¿s surface to water volume contact ratio (S/V) of 0.16 cm-1, that is quite different from the practice in buildings and domestic installations. The goal of this study was to evaluate the importance of the S/V ratio for performance of the BPP test and for correct determining the enhancement of microbial growth by CPDW. The BPP of 10 pipe products were compared under the S/V ratios of 0.16 cm-1 and 1.6 cm-1 in two consecutive trials. Our study found out that the BPP test at the originally proposed S/V contact ratio is a reliable approach for assessment of growth promoting properties of CPDW. The data showed that under the S/V ratio of 0.16 cm-1 the test achieves similar results for the BPP of the tested pipe materials as with a more realistic S/V ratio of 1.6 cm-1. However, the S/V ratio showed a significant effect on the planktonic biomass concentration and heterotrophic plate count in the test waters in contact with the tested pipe materials and that stronger effect on the water quality can be important from hygienic point of view. Therefore, the impact of the S/V contact ratio on drinking water quality should be taken into consideration for assessment of the products in contact with drinking water. For acceptance of the CPDW, besides a Pass/Fail Criterion for the BPP, a second criterion for evaluation of materials on their effect of drinking water quality needs to be developed and the planktonic biomass concentration could be useful one for this purpose.JRC.I.5-Physical and chemical exposure

Guidance on sampling, analysis and data reporting for the monitoring of mineral oil hydrocarbons in food and food contact materials

This guidance document aims to support the generation of reliable results for the content of mineral oil saturated hydrocarbons (MOSH) and mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons (MOAH) content in food and food contact materials (FCM) and to harmonise reporting standards to EFSA. Therefore, it covers specific directions for sampling and analysis for the monitoring of mineral oil in food and FCM in the frame of Recommendation (EU) 2017/84. It provides guidance on the minimum performance requirements of the analytical methods fit for MOSH/MOAH monitoring in food and FCM. It also lists the data elements and content to be reported in the EFSA database. The guidance should be used by all stakeholders involved in the determination of mineral oil hydrocarbons in food and FCM, i.e. food inspectors, official control laboratories, laboratories in industry and laboratories of non-governmental organisations. This guidance provides further clarification on the requirements of Regulation (EC) No 333/2007 related to the sampling of food and FCM subject to MOSH and MOAH analysis. This guidance aims to enable reporting to EFSA by laboratories that are already familiar with the analytical approaches and have proven their analytical performance in relevant proficiency testing (PT) schemes. For laboratories that are not familiar with the analytical approaches, this guidance gives the minimum performance requirements and references to current analytical approaches described in the scientific literature. It does not provide standard operating procedures.JRC.F.5-Food and Feed Complianc

ATP as an Indicator of Microbiological Activity in Tap Water

The DWD requires from Member States to take all measures to ensure that water intended for human consumption is free from any micro-organisms, parasites and from any substances, which in numbers or concentrations, constitute a potential danger to human health. Traditional methods to evaluate the presence of bacteria in drinking water samples, such as Heterotrophic Plate Count (HPC), need a few days of incubation and require selection of appropriate temperature and medium. Another important disadvantage is that a small fraction of microorganisms is able to cultivate on artificial mediums. Among others, ATP is a general indicator for the presence of living cells. ATP can be measured in a very sensitive way, using firefly extracted from Photinus pyralis. The light emission is in the range between 500 to 700 nm wavelength and the assay requires the presence of the luciferase, luciferin, magnesium and oxygen. The measured amount of light is proportional to the ATP in the sample. In optimum conditions 1 photon of light is produced by 1 molecule of ATP.JRC.DDG.H.5-Rural, water and ecosystem resource

Elements in Tap Water - Part 2 - Quality Assurance of Analysis

Due to the inclusion of the quality of the water distribution system in the DWD this new directive prescribes new parametric values and the performance characteristics. The trueness, precision and limit of detection are defined as percentage of the parametric value. In the framework of our research on the effect of products on the quality of drinking water at the consumers¿ tap, we studied the quality of our data using certified reference water and four selected samples. Elements additional to the DWD, i.e. those evaluated by the WHO and those mentioned in national regulations concerning the acceptance of products that come in contact with drinking water, were included in our study. Analysis of the certified standard revealed that K, Pb and Se might only suffer from a small systematic error whereas As and Ca might suffer a bigger systematic error (P=0.05). The trueness of As is out of range compared to what is defined in the DWD. The trueness of Cu and Pb is at the edge. The precision of As and Se are on the edge. In general, the low concentrations in the samples compared to the parametric values in the DWD result in slightly or significantly lower precisions. The precision of Al, Ca, Fe, Mg and Zn for the samples is lower compared to that of the certified standard at a similar concentration level whereas U showed the opposite behaviour. The certified values and their precision for certified standards are normally obtained by single element analysis and do not consider performance during time. Considering the fact that our method analyses 28 elements and that this might introduce additional variations both in trueness and precision compared to single element analysis and the fact that the results were obtained during ten month, our method is fit for our purpose to study release from materials. For legal purposes or for detailed studies on specific elements a single element analysis may be more appropriate. This is especially true for arsenic.JRC.H.5-Rural, water and ecosystem resource

Guidance for the identification of polymers in multilayer films used in food contact materials: User guide of selected practices to determine the nature of layers

This guidance describes how to characterize the composition of a multilayer plastic film for food packaging, with respect to the consecutive order of the layers and their identity. It provides necessary background information on the general composition of multilayer plastic packaging and it illustrates in detail the separation of layers for some examples. It also provides in annexes additional information related to the use of a microtome and of optical microscopy using one common instrument for illustrative purposes.JRC.I.1-Chemical Assessment and Testin

Report on the inter-laboratory comparison exercise organised by the European Union Reference Laboratory for Food Contact Materials: Determination of elements in acetic acid solutions and in migration from ceramic and glass tableware

This report presents the outcome of an inter-laboratory comparison exercise (ILC) on the determination of selected metals in acetic acid solutions and the determination of migration of elements from ceramic and glass tableware. The exercise was organised by the European Union Reference Laboratory for Food Contact Materials (EURL-FCM) to evaluate the enforceability of measures under discussion for the future revision(s) of ceramics Directive 84/500/EEC [1] and the implementation of provisions laid down in the Commission Regulation 10/2011 [2] for plastics. National Reference Laboratories (NRLs) requested the EURL-FCM to organise an ILC with the aim to check (i) the analytical abilities of participating laboratories to quantify Cu, Fe, Zn and Sb in a solution of acetic acid 3% and Ba, Co, Mn, Pb, Cd and Al in a solution of acetic acid 4%; (ii) to test the laboratories performance to carry out the migration test on ceramic and glass articles and (iii) to derive precision criteria, including repeatability and reproducibility for the release of elements from tableware. Participation in this ILC was mandatory for the nominated NRLs, and open to Official Control Laboratories (OCLs) and other invited laboratories. A total of 53 participants from 27 countries registered to the exercise. Twenty-nine NRLs from 27 countries participated in this ILC and all of them reported results. Laboratory results were rated using z-score in accordance with ISO 13528:2015 [3]. The target standard deviation for the ILC assessment (σ), for all measurands was calculated based on previous ILC03/04 2014 exercises [4] for spiked solutions and using the robust reproducibility standard deviation for the migration exercise on tableware. Repeatability and reproducibility standard deviations for the quantification of elements in acetic acid 3% and acetic acid 4% (spiked solutions and leachates) were calculated using robust approaches [3, 5]. The outcome of this exercise was satisfactory. The rate of success was almost always higher than 80% for all elements in all samples. No difference between the performance of NRLs and OCLs was observed. Since the exercise required the uncertainty estimation, an additional assessment was provided to each laboratory, indicating how reasonable their measurement uncertainty estimation was. lζ-scoresl were systematically higher than z-scores, that underlines the need of an improvement in estimation of the measurement uncertainties.JRC.F.5-Food and Feed Complianc

Guidance document on fat reduction factor, functional barrier concept, phthalates and primary aromatic amines

Commission Regulation (EU) No 10/2011 of 14 January 2011 on plastic materials and articles intended to come into contact with food contains four issues for which food inspectors and enforcement laboratories need further guidance. These issues are the concept of the fat reduction factor and the functional barrier, and the restrictions for certain phthalates and primary aromatic amines. The Regulation applies from 1 May 2011. The network of the European Union Reference Laboratory and the National Reference Laboratories for food contact materials created a Task Force in order to give guidance on these issues.JRC.I.1-Chemical Assessment and Testin

Elements in Tap Water. Part 3. Effect of Sample Volume and Stagnation Time on the Concentration of the Element.

Abstract not availableJRC.H-Institute for environment and sustainability (Ispra

Guidance on Sampling and Monitoring for Lead in Drinking Water

This report gives guidance on the assessment of lead in drinking water at national level in the framework of the work agreed by the Parties of the Protocol Water and Health. The guidance focuses on the case that nothing is known about the lead problem in water supply. The guidance proposes creating plumbosolvency maps of every water supply zone on which basis representative zones are selected for monitoring. The Random Daytime sampling protocol is the key method. On the basis of the monitoring results an estimate of the lead problem at national level can be made.JRC.I.2-Chemical assessment and testin

CPDW Project. Assessment of Cytotoxicological Potential of Products in Contact with Drinking Water.

The investigations described in this report were conducted as part of the European Project "Development of Harmonised tests to be used in the European Approval Scheme (EAS) concerning Construction Products in contact with Drinking Water (CPDW)", under Contract no. EVK1-CT2000-00052. This project is financially supported by the European Commission, the national authorities of Denmark, France, Germany, Portugal and the United Kingdom and the material suppliers in these countries and Europe, respectively. Work Package 2 concerned the cytotoxicity properties of materials of this project. The institutes participating in the investigations and discussions in this work package are listed below.JRC.DDG.H-Institute for environment and sustainability (Ispra