The NRL is responsible for co-ordinating the activities of national laboratories involved in the microbiological monitoring of shellfish harvesting areas for classification purposes. Since August 2005 six laboratories have been sub-contracted by the Marine Institute to carry out testing of approximately 1500 shellfish samples per year for E. coli. All laboratories undertaking this testing are required to use a standardised test methodology (ISO/TS16649) as outlined in the EU hygiene regulations and adhere to strict quality assurance procedures to ensure the integrity of results.
Sample requirements
Only results from samples that comply with the following criteria are accepted as valid as part of the shellfish classification scheme.
- Shellfish must be received in the lab within 24 hours of sampling
- Shellfish must be below 15°C on receipt in the laboratory
- Shellfish must be alive and in good condition
E. coli test method
The test method used is a standard 5-tube 3-dilution Most Probable Number (MPN) technique ISO/TS16649:
Quality assurance
All laboratories testing shellfish for the national classification programme are accredited for the 5 tube 3 dilution MPN method (ISO/TS16649) by the Irish National Accreditation Body (INAB) to ISO 17025 standard.
In addition each laboratory is also a member of the External Quality Assessment (EQA) shellfish scheme operated by the Health Protection Agency in the UK.
Further details on the co-ordination of the national testing laboratories can be obtained from Bill Dore.