July 2003 Volume VII, No. 1NEWS FROM INTERNATIONAL AGENCIES Other ongoing EC-funded projects include (1) research on Alternaria mycotoxins in organic vegetables; (2) establishing a stronger basis for risk assessment of ochratoxin A by identifying the mechanism by which this mycotoxin promotes carcinogenesis; (3) acquiring and analyzing data for risk assessment and developing integrated management strategies for ochratoxin A contamination in grapes and wine. The Food and Feed Unit established by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the Institute for Reference Materials and Measurement (IRMM) expects its laboratories to be fully installed and operational by December 2003. The lab will begin pursuing accreditation to the ISO 17025 standard in November 2003. Several mycotoxin-related projects that reflect the unit’s mission of developing improved testing methods are scheduled for completion by the end of this year.These include (1) validating a simple method of aflatoxin testing for developing countries; (2) organizing two validation studies of two new internally developed methods of testing for mycotoxins; (3) providing a validated method of patulin determination in apple juice to support revised patulin regulations; (4) monitoring mycotoxin levels in beer; (5) developing a method for analyzing Fusarium toxins in cereals; (6) carrying out the DG SANCO mycotoxin project. The complete work program can be accessed at the following website: www.irmm.jrc.be/ffu/wp_2003.pdf |