Processing contaminants

Wageningen Food Safety Research (WFSR) is a National Reference Laboratory (NRL) for research into processing contaminants in foodstuffs of animal and vegetable origin, carried out within the framework of official monitoring and enforcement by Regulation (EU) no. 2023/915.

The scope of this NRL includes the following processing contaminants:

Acrylamide
Furans (among other things, furan and 2- and 3-methyl furan)
2- and 3-MCPD esters and glycidyl esters, as well as free 2- and 3-MCPD
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)
Mineral oil hydrocarbons (MOH)

WFSR, as the NRL, is responsible for maintaining expertise in the aforementioned areas (method development, validation, and accreditation, according to Regulation (EG) nr. 333/2007). This guarantees that the NRL carries out analytical methods with the necessary quality and dependability.

Quality assurance and guidance

WFSR plays a crucial role in achieving harmonisation in the implementation of analysis methods for processing contaminants by closely working with the European Union Reference Laboratory (EURL). This involves attending workshops and taking part in proficiency tests organised by the EURL and other organisations to prove that WFSR conducts the analyses accurately. The Technical University of Denmark in Copenhagen serves as the EURL for processing contaminants.

WFSR provides guidance to the Ministries of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality (LNV) and Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS), as well as the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) and the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) on processing contaminants. This is done through policy and content working groups, as well as oral and/or written communication, and reports from WFSR.