Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu RIVM
Abstract
Since 1992, National Reference Laboratories (NRLs) of European Union (EU) Member States have been obliged to participate in annual quality control ‘Proficiency’ Tests (PTs). One of the PTs is on typing of Salmonella bacteria. The NRLs of all 27 EU Member States performed well in this 2021 quality control test on Salmonella typing. One laboratory was found to require a follow-up study after the initial test. Overall, the participating laboratories were able to assign the correct name to 98% of the strains tested. Laboratories are obliged to type Salmonella with the reference method (serotyping). In 2021, they could also perform additional typing at the DNA level, for example by using Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS). More detailed DNA typing methods are sometimes needed to trace the source of a contamination. Each Member State designates a specific laboratory within their national boundaries to be responsible for the detection and identification of Salmonella in animals and/or food products. These laboratories are referred to as the National Reference Laboratories (NRLs). The performance of these NRLs in Salmonella typing is assessed annually by testing their ability to correctly identify 20 Salmonella strains. NRLs from countries outside the EU occasionally participate in these tests on a voluntary basis. Eight countries took part in 2021: the United Kingdom, the (potential) EU candidate countries Kosovo, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Türkiye as well as the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries Iceland, Norway and Switzerland. The annual Proficiency Test on Salmonella typing is organised by the European Union Reference Laboratory for Salmonella (EURL-Salmonella). The EURL-Salmonella is located at the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) in the Netherlands
