Tasks of the NRLs with respect to crisis management: contribution of the EURL/NRL at the BVL as exemplified by the horse meat scandal

Abstract

According to Art. 32 and 33 of Regulation (EC) No. 882/2004, the European Union and National Reference Laboratory for Pharmacologically Active Substances (EURL/NRL) at the Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL) is responsible, among other tasks, for supporting the official control laboratories as well as the competent authorities on a national and EU level. It is thus an important instrument in the overall complex of crisis management. Immediately after the publication of the first rapid alerts in the framework of the European Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF), the EURL provided advice to the responsible Commission service with respect to the wording of the Commission Recommendation of 19 February 2013 on a coordinated control plan with a view to establish the prevalence of fraudulent practices in the marketing of certain foods, by detailing the available analytical means and capacities. In connection with the consumer fraud regarding the undeclared presence of horse meat in beef products (convenience food), a possible risk emanating from the non-authorised use of phenylbutazone (PBZ) was taken into consideration. For this reason the Commission Recommendation of 19 February 2013 suggested that at least one sample for every 50 tonnes of horse meat should be tested, each Member State (MS) being required to carry out a minimum of five tests. Moreover there was need for an analysis for PBZ in processed products containing horse meat as undeclared ingredient. The EURL/NRL of the BVL supported the analytical activities of the German control laboratories as well as of the European National Reference Laboratories (NRLs) through numerous measures.