Regulation (EC) No 776/2006 designates the JRC Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements as the European Union Reference Laboratory (EU-RL) for Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs). With coming into force of the Treaty of Lisbon the term Community Reference Laboratory has changed into European Union Reference Laboratory (EU-RL).
The primary tasks of the EU-RL are:
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to assist laboratories across the EU Member States with the development and validation of analytical methods,
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to organise comparative tests,
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to help harmonise official controls, and
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to help co-ordinate and develop further the analysis of all PAHs.
These activities refer in particular to Commission Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006 as amended by Commission Regulation 835/2011 setting maximum levels of benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) and the sum of benzo(a)pyrene, Benz(a)anthracene, Benzo(b)fluoranthene and chrysene in various types of food, to Commission Regulation (EC) No 333/2007 as amended by Commissin Regulation 836/2011 laying down sampling and analysis measures for the official control of the levels of BaP in foodstuffs. To achieve these goals, the EU-RL works in close collaboration with national reference laboratories (NRLs).