BS EN 16215:2020 - Animal Feeding Stuffs: Methods of Sampling and Analysis

Ensure the safety and quality of animal feed with the comprehensive standard BS EN 16215:2020. This essential document provides detailed methods for the sampling and analysis of animal feeding stuffs, focusing on the determination of dioxins, dioxin-like PCBs, and indicator PCBs using advanced techniques such as GC/HRMS.

Overview

Released on January 20, 2020, this standard is a critical resource for professionals in the animal feed industry, laboratories, and regulatory bodies. With 58 pages of in-depth information, it offers a robust framework for ensuring that animal feed is free from harmful contaminants, thereby safeguarding animal health and, by extension, human health.

Key Features

• Standard Number: BS EN 16215:2020
• ISBN: 978 0 539 00279 9
• Status: Standard

Why This Standard is Important

Dioxins and PCBs are environmental pollutants that can accumulate in the food chain, posing significant health risks. The BS EN 16215:2020 standard provides validated methods for detecting these substances at trace levels, ensuring that animal feed meets stringent safety standards. By implementing these methods, producers can prevent contamination and maintain the integrity of their products.

Advanced Analytical Techniques

The standard employs Gas Chromatography/High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry (GC/HRMS), a powerful analytical technique known for its precision and accuracy in detecting low concentrations of contaminants. This method is particularly effective for identifying dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs, which are notoriously difficult to measure due to their low concentration levels and complex chemical structures.

Comprehensive Coverage

BS EN 16215:2020 covers a wide range of topics essential for the accurate analysis of animal feed, including:

• Detailed procedures for sample collection and preparation
• Guidelines for the calibration and validation of analytical instruments
• Criteria for the identification and quantification of dioxins and PCBs
• Quality control measures to ensure reliable results

Benefits of Compliance

Adhering to the BS EN 16215:2020 standard offers numerous benefits, including:

• Enhanced Safety: Protects animal and human health by ensuring feed is free from harmful contaminants.
• Regulatory Compliance: Meets the requirements of national and international regulations, facilitating market access.
• Consumer Confidence: Builds trust with consumers by demonstrating a commitment to quality and safety.
• Risk Management: Reduces the risk of product recalls and associated financial losses.

Who Should Use This Standard?

This standard is indispensable for a variety of stakeholders, including:

• Animal feed manufacturers seeking to ensure product safety and quality
• Laboratories conducting feed analysis and testing
• Regulatory bodies overseeing feed safety standards
• Quality assurance professionals in the agricultural sector

Conclusion

BS EN 16215:2020 is a vital tool for anyone involved in the production, analysis, or regulation of animal feed. By providing a clear and reliable method for detecting dioxins and PCBs, this standard helps ensure that animal feed is safe, compliant, and of the highest quality. Invest in this standard to protect your business, your consumers, and the environment.

BS EN 16215:2020

This standard BS EN 16215:2020 Animal feeding stuffs: Methods of sampling and analysis. Determination of dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs by GC/HRMS and of indicator PCBs by GC/HRMS is classified in these ICS categories:

• 65.120 Animal feeding stuffs

This document is applicable to the determination of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), (together termed ‘dioxins’ (PCDD/Fs)) and dioxin-like PCBs and non-dioxin-like PCBs (dl-PCBs and ndl-PCBs) in animal feeding stuffs. Collaborative studies have been carried out. The method is suitable for the determination of dioxins, dl-PCBs and ndl-PCBs at the appropriate MRL in compound feed and ingredients e.g. oil, mineral clay. The method is applicable to samples containing trace level amounts of one or more dioxins, dioxin-like PCBs and non-dioxin-likePCBs. The limit of quantification (LOQ) is

• 0,05 pg/g (OCDD/ F = 0,1 pg/g) for the relevant individual congeners of dioxins/furans,

• 0,05 pg/g for non-ortho PCBs,

• 10 pg/g for mono-ortho PCBs, and

• 100 pg/g for non-dioxin-like-PCBs.

For determination of dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs, the procedure can be used as confirmatory method as defined by Commission Regulation (EC) No 152/2009 for dioxins and dl-PCB in feed [1]. Confirmatory methods as described in this standard are high-resolution gas chromatography/high resolution mass spectrometry (HRGC/HRMS) methods. If only the analysis of non-dioxin-like PCBs is required, a GC-LRMS method can be used (e.g. EN 15741 [2]) provided that appropriate analytical performance criteria are met in the relevant range for the matrix of interest.

This document is split into four modules. Each module describes a part of the whole procedure (see Figure 1 and Figure 2) to be followed:

1. Module A: Description of standards which might be used;

2. Module B: Description of extraction procedures;

3. Module C: Description of clean-up procedures;

4. Module D: GC/HRMS determination.

Each module describes a part of the whole method as well as, when applicable, alternatives which should be equivalent. Each module has to be regarded as an example. Combining modules and/or alternatives gives a highly flexible, “performance based” procedure. It is permitted to modify the method if all performance criteria laid down in Commission Regulation (EC) No 152/2009 [1] are met.

Any deviation of the described method, combination of modules needs to be recorded as part of the QA/QC procedures of accredited laboratories and should be available on request.