National Reference Laboratory for Listeria monocytogenes

In the application of EC Regulation no. 882/2004, the Ministry of Health appointed the IZSAM as National Reference Laboratory for Listeria monocytogenes in 2007.

The Laboratory shall:

• Cooperate with the Community Reference Laboratory for L. monocytogenes (EURL Lm) (ANSES, Paris);
• Coordinate the activities of official national laboratories;
• Organize interlaboratory circuits for official laboratories;
• Deliver technical and scientific instruction from the European Reference Laboratory to the Ministry of Health and official Laboratories;
• Provide scientific and technical assistance to the Ministry of Health to implement screening plans;
• Draft the yearly report to be submitted to the Ministry of Health.

The quality of the results of lab analysis is ensured by the validation of the tests by ACCREDIA, in compliance with ISO/IEC 17025 standard, the use of validated test methods acknowledged on the international level and by the periodic participation into interlaboratory test circuits. The NRL for Listeria monocytogenes provides support in epidemiology studies and screening through the analysis of strain insulates from the environment, animals and food by using phenotypic and molecular characterization methods.