36 of the 38 participating laboratories from Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Poland and Denmark achieved a positive result in the 2019 QS round robin test for laboratories in QS salmonella monitoring. They were asked to test ten meat juice and ten serum samples with different antibody contents.
28 QS-approved laboratories took part in the round robin test, as well as 10 other laboratories (e.g. state offices, research institutions, authorities), which voluntarily participated in the round robin test. From the QS-approved laboratories, one laboratory did not pass the test because its results were erroneous. In general, QS-approved laboratories are obliged to participate in the round robin tests in order to maintain their approval. If a laboratory does not pass two rounds in a row, it loses this approval. In addition, another laboratory that voluntarily participated in the QS round robin test did not pass the test because it also did not provide correct results. The remaining participants achieved a positive result.
For 15 years, farmers, veterinarians, abattoirs and laboratories in the QS scheme have been making a decisive contribution to food quality assurance by carrying out salmonella monitoring. The aim of monitoring is to identify and subsequently eliminate possible sources of salmonella in order to continuously reduce the number of infected and contaminated animals. For this reason, QS starts at the production stage by identifying farms with a high salmonella risk at an early stage and calling for measures to reduce the salmonella burden in pig fattening farms. The prerequisite for this is that the QS-approved laboratories provide valid test results with regard to salmonella contamination. In order to guarantee this, QS carries out an annual round robin test with the QS-approved laboratories.
