Determination of an appropriate heat treatment of animal waste using the ELISA technique. results of a validation study

Effective sterilisation of animal waste is an important prerequisite for th e use of animal meal as an ingredient of compound feed for non-ruminants. S pecific conditions for the rendering process aimed at the inactivation of t he causative agent of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), and the preve ntion of other pathogens in feeding stuff, are defined by European law. A v alidation study encompassing 21 laboratories from 12 European countries was performed using a commercially available test kit based on an enzyme-linke d immune sorbent assay (ELISA) which allows proof of the appropriate heat t reatment of the processed animal waste. The evaluation of the results regar ding the R-value reveals the robustness of the method, a sufficient sensiti vity to detect a deviation of the processing conditions from the regulation and a low standard deviation of the data. Moreover the statistical evaluat ion of the results allows for the estimation of the coefficient of variatio n which is between 11 and 22% depending on the magnitude of the response of the test. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.