Trace elements in bovine muscle: an ongoing project for a new certified reference material

In the framework of the activities of the Community Reference Laboratory (C RL) for residues at the Istituto Superiore di Sanita (ISS) of Rome, a numbe r of proficiency tests were performed in order to assess and improve, where ver necessary, the quality of regulatory residue analysis within the EU. In this context, a pilot study was undertaken with the purpose of ascertainin g the feasibility of a project for the certification of a new reference mat erial for trace elements in bovine muscle. On behalf of the ISS, approximat ely 70 kg of bovine muscle, collected at a slaughterhouse in Geel (Belgium) , were freeze-dried, homogenized, stabilized and bottled under argon atmosp here by the Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements, Joint Resea rch Centre, European Commission (IRMM-JRC-EC). Preliminary analyses were ca rried out with Quadrupole (Q) and High Resolution (HR) Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) to evaluate the content of As, Cd, Cu and Pb, whereas the mow Injection Mercury System (FIMS) was used to quantify H g. Digestion of the matrix was achieved by acid-assisted microwave irradiat ion. The mean values of experimentally obtained data were the following (in nanograms per gram): As, 24.2 +/- 1.2; Cd, 5.48 +/- 0.29; Cu, 4765 +/- 95; Hg, 3.37 +/- 0.73. and Pb, 184 +/- 7. Subsequently, 16 National Reference Laboratories (NRLs) for residues in the Member States plus the Norwegian on e and eight Italian public laboratories were accepted to participate in the project and received one bottle of the freeze-dried bovine muscle. The lab oratories were requested to perform three different analytical runs (in thr ee different days), each consisting of three individual measurements. Preli minary results showed good agreement and fair evidence for homogeneity of t he entire mass, thus setting the stage for the future certification of this candidate CRM. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.