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Guidance UK NATIONAL REFERENCE LABORATORY FOR FOOD MICROBIOLOGY Guidance and responsibilities of the UK's National Reference Laboratory (NRL) for food microbiology. Get emails about

this page CONTENTS * Expert witness information * Contact * Standard methods and public health guidance * Reports and audits Print this page The UK’s NRL for food microbiology is responsible

for official controls on specific areas of food microbiology: * Listeria monocytogenes * coagulase positive staphylococci * Escherichia coli (including STEC) * campylobacter * salmonella *

antimicrobial resistance The Food Standards Agency (FSA) awarded the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) these responsibilities for performing official controls to ensure the verification of

compliance with feed and food law, animal health and animal welfare rules. This is described in Article 101 of Regulation (EU) No 2017/625, which is now the assimilated EU legislation (REUL)

in the UK, UK Statutory Instrument 2019 No. 665. When implementing and using ISO Standards, there is some supporting information to help food laboratories, including news and method

validation and verification presentations. EXPERT WITNESS INFORMATION Local authorities and port health authorities ask staff in official laboratories (OLs) to provide witness of fact

statements, advice to prepare material for prosecutions, and requests for suitable expert witnesses. The UK NRL can provide advice and practical support. CONTACT National Reference

Laboratory Food, Water and Environmental Microbiology Services UK Health Security Agency 61 Colindale Avenue London NW9 5EQ Email [email protected] Telephone 020 8327 7160 / 7325 STANDARD

METHODS AND PUBLIC HEALTH GUIDANCE Below is a list of procedures for the laboratory examination of all food types and environmental samples that the NRL can provide to other laboratories.

Please contact us using the details above to request the procedures and this will ensure the most current version is made available. Performance monitoring of the Official Laboratories are

conducted by the NRL using the European Microbiology Legislation Scheme proficiency test. Where results do not match with the intended, a monitoring protocol has been drafted by the NRL to

support Official Laboratories with advice of any remedial actions to take. The standard methods and public health guidance available include: * determination of pH in food and water samples

(FNES63.04) * determination of water activity in food (FNES67.05) * enumeration of coagulase-positive staphylococci (Staphylococcus aureus and other species) (FNES8.08) * preparation of

samples and dilutions, plating and sub-culture (FNES26.06) * enumeration of β-glucuronidase positive E.coli: pour plate method (FNES3.08) * detection and enumeration of Listeria

monocytogenes and other Listeria species (FNES22.07) * enumeration of β-glucuronidase positive E.coli: most probable number technique (FNES131.01) * detection of Salmonella species

(FNES16.09) * detection and enumeration of Campylobacter species (FNES15.07) * detection and enumeration of bacteria in swabs and other environmental samples (FNES4.07) * guidance on public

health response: involvement of UKHSA Food Water and Environmental Microbiology Laboratory staff in the investigation of outbreaks of food or waterborne disease (FNES18.06) * verification

and validation of methods (FNES61.02) * measurement uncertainty in testing (FNES66.03) * detection and isolation of shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (FNES144.03) * preparation of

positive control DNA for use in real-time PCR assays for foodborne pathogens (FNES45.04) * FEPTU/NRL EFL Scheme – Monitoring performance protocol (FNRLW1.01) REPORTS AND AUDITS National

reference laboratory for food microbiology: annual report Audit of official laboratories (OLs) Previous NRL guidance can be found on the National Archives website. SIGN UP FOR EMAILS OR

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