Transferability study of a near-infrared microscopic method for the detection of banned meat and bone meal in feedingstuffs

Abstract

Near-infrared microscopy (NIRM) has been proved to be a powerful tool for the detection of banned meat and bone meal (MBM) in feed. The identification of MBM traces and its ability to differentiate animal from vegetable feed ingredients is based on the evaluation of near-infrared spectra obtained from individual particles present in the sample. This evaluation is supported by appropriate decision rules for the absorbances at specific wavelengths. Here we show that the method and the corresponding decision rules can be successfully transferred from the laboratory which constructed the decision rules to two independent laboratories that were not involved in the calibration process of the method. The analytical results from blind feed samples containing MBM (positive samples) and feed samples without MBM (negative samples) revealed a very good agreement between the three laboratories, thus demonstrating the transferability of the method.

The Potential of near Infrared Microscopy to Detect, Identify and Quantify Processed Animal by-Products

“…54 von Holst et al proposed a modification of these decision rules for analysing particle spectra from the sediment. 56 the decision rules are based on three criteria: (1) the presence of maxima in the 1920-1960 nm, 2030-2070 nm and 2150-2200 nm regions; (2) the presence of minima in the 2010-2030 nm (y1), 2070-2150 nm (y2) and 2210-2250 nm (y3) regions; and (3) fulfilling the formula [(absorbance around y1 + absorbance around y3)/2] > absorbance around y2. this last criterion depends to a great extent, however, on the slope of the spectrum and this can lead to mathematically classifying as animal a sample that visually is not.…”

“…von Holst et al reported also the results of a transferability study in which these decision criteria based on the visual inspection of the nIr spectrum were applied to measurements obtained by three independent laboratories. 56 the three laboratories [Walloon agricultural research centre (cra-W), Institute for Health and consumer protection (IHcp), and Institute for reference Materials and Measurements (IrMM)] involved in the transferability study were equipped with a fourier transform (ft) near infrared microscope from the same company (perkin-elmer), but the model and specification were different; at cra-W a Spectrum Identicheck ft-nIr system and auto Image microscopy, at IHcp a ft infrared Spectrum 2000 system and auto Image microscopy and at IrMM a Spectrum one ntS system and Spotlight microscopy. each laboratory analysed the same 20 samples with and without different levels of MBM (0-8%).…”

Scientific Opinion on the revision of the quantitative risk assessment (QRA) of the BSE risk posed by processed animal proteins (PAPs)

“…NIRM methods use the infrared spectra of particles to determine their origin. The NIR microscopy method developed at Walloon Agricultural Research Centre (CRA-W) has been successfully transferred to another lab (von Holst et al, 2008) and can analyze small particles (~50 µm of diameter).…”

Using genetic methods for analysis of fish meals and feeds employed in Greek mariculture

“…Classical microscopy is the only official methodology (EU legislation 126/2003) to screen animal feed since now. However, recent collaborative studies (von Holst et al, ) revealed great deviation in the results between laboratories and resulted in significant differences in sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of the method. Molecular techniques have proven capable to overpass problems related to the above methodology (Farajollahi et al, ; LUO et al, ; Santaclara, Espiñeira, Cabado, & Vieites, ).…”