title: Proficiency test on the determination of pesticide residues in grapes with multi-residue methods.
abstract: This manuscript presents the results of the International Measurement Evaluation Programme 37 (IMEP-37) study, a proficiency test (PT) which was organised to assess the world-wide performance of food control laboratories on the determination of pesticide residues in grapes. This PT supports the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 on maximum residue levels of pesticides in or on food and feed of plant and animal origin. Eighty-one participants reported results, forty from EU Member States and forty-one from outside the EU. The test item was a grape sample spiked with 20 selected pesticides. The results of the participants were rated with z- and zeta (ζ-) scores in accordance with ISO 13528 and ISO 17043. The standard deviation for the proficiency assessment, σˆ, of this PT was set at 25% for the 20 measured pesticides based on previous experience with similar measurands. The results reported to IMEP-37 showed that the participants performed satisfactorily, ranging from 81% (carbendazim) to 97% (azoxystrobin, penconazole, pyrimethanil) of the participating laboratories. However, only 30% of the participants managed to analyze all pesticides satisfactorily. Overall, the performance of the participants in this PT was good but there is room for improvement in the development of multi-residue methods for the simultaneous analysis of a large number of pesticides with an increased accuracy.
authors.affiliation: European Commission, Directorate General Joint Research Centre, Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements, Retieseweg 111, 2440 Geel, Belgium. Electronic address: Pieter.Dehouck@ec.europa.eu.
authors.forename: Pieter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dehouck
authors.affiliation: European Commission, Directorate General Joint Research Centre, Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements, Retieseweg 111, 2440 Geel, Belgium.
authors.forename: Susana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Grimalt
authors.affiliation: European Commission, Directorate General Joint Research Centre, Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements, Retieseweg 111, 2440 Geel, Belgium.
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dabrio
authors.affiliation: European Commission, Directorate General Joint Research Centre, Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements, Retieseweg 111, 2440 Geel, Belgium.
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cordeiro
authors.affiliation: European Commission, Directorate General Joint Research Centre, Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements, Retieseweg 111, 2440 Geel, Belgium.
authors.forename: Yiannis
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fiamegos
authors.affiliation: European Commission, Directorate General Joint Research Centre, Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements, Retieseweg 111, 2440 Geel, Belgium.
authors.forename: Piotr
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Robouch
authors.affiliation: European Union Reference Laboratory for Pesticide Residues in Fruit & Vegetables, Universidad De Almeria, Ctra. Sacramento s/n, La Cañada de San Urbano, 04120 Almeria, Spain.
authors.forename: Amadeo R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Fernández-Alba
authors.affiliation: European Commission, Directorate General Joint Research Centre, Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements, Retieseweg 111, 2440 Geel, Belgium.
authors.forename: Beatriz
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: de la Calle
mesh_terms: D005504:Food Analysis / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards*; D007753:Laboratories / Q000592:standards*; D010573:Pesticide Residues / Q000032:analysis*; D027843:Vitis / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D010573:Pesticide Residues
keywords: GC–MS; Grapes; LC–MS; Multi-residue methods; Pesticides; Proficiency test