May 2021

NMKL newsletter No. 104 of May 2021 is finally published. The newsletter in a new and modern format opens in your web browser by clicking the following hyperlink:

NMKL News No. 104 

Feb 2021

The certificate issued to DirectSens GmbH for LactoSens®R has been renewed from 7 March 2021. The method describes the use of a biosensor for determination of residual lactose in lactose-free milk/milk products.

• NordVal International Certificate 048 for “LactoSens®R”

Three certificates issued to Analytik in Milch Produktions- and Vertriebs- GmbH, Germany, have been renewed from March 2021. The methods describe Brilliant Black Reduction tests in microtiter plates for detection of anti-microbial agents in bovine milk.

• NordVal International Certificate 051 for “BRT Inhibitor Test”
• NordVal International Certificate 052 for “BRT MRL Screening Test”
• NordVal International Certificate 053 for “BRT hi-sense”

The certificate issued to HyServe for Compact Dry ETC has been renewed 15 Feb 2021. The method describes ready-to-use dry media sheets for determination of Enterococcus in a broad range of foods and in water products.

• NordVal International Certificate 047 for “Compact Dry ETC Method for the Enumeration of Enterococci in Food and Water intended for Human Consumption”

The certificate issued to Aidian for Hygicult®TPC has been renewed from Feb 2021. Hygicult® TPC slides are intended for rapid monitoring of microbiological hygiene in different types of materials - contact plates and swabs.

• NordVal International Certificate 018 for ”Hygicult®TPC”

17. Dec 2020

Unfortunately, NMKL has decided to withdraw the method “NMKL 67, 7^th Ed. 2020 Bacillus cereus group”. We urge customers to use the 6^th Ed. until the 7^th Ed. has been revised and re-published early 2021.

NMKL acknowledges that a clarification concerning reporting results as ‘Bacillus cereus group’ is needed and that there are discrepancies between the Norwegian/Scandinavian and the English text. If the 7^th Ed. has already been applied, please express results as ‘presumptive Bacillus cereus’. There are no known issues with technical performance of the method.

We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and thank our observant customers for constructive feedback.

Nov 2020

NMKL participated in the Codex Committee on Methods of Analysis and Sampling (CCMAS) webinar series November 23-25 and our presentation is now available.

The standardized analytical method for folate in food has traditionally utilized quantification by a microbiological assay, a method that cannot distinguish between the different folate vitamers. This new NMKL method enables quantification of total folate based on quantification of six folate vitamers which contribute to the main folate activity. Besides providing the information about the content of the specific folate vitamers, the method includes fast extraction of folates from food that may be carried out within eight hours. 

The essential part of the method is using a pure γ-glutamyl hydrolase, which enables efficient and fast break-down of the polyglutamates to monoglutamates. LC-ESI-MS/MS quantifies monoglutamates by use of 13C5-labelled internal standards. 

A collaborative study was conducted in summer 2019 with participation of eight laboratories from seven European countries. The method has been successfully validated for total folate determination in strawberries, spinach, lentils, yogurt, liver and infant formula, providing acceptable Horwitz ratio values (0.60-1.94). The results are published in Food Chemistry (Ložnjak Švarc, P; Oveland, E; Strandler, HS; Kariluoto, S; Campos-Giménez, E; Ivarsen, E; Malaviole, I; Motta, C; Rychlik, M; Striegel, L; Jakobsen, J (2020): Collaborative study: Quantification of total folate in food using an efficient single-enzyme extaction combined with LC-MS/MS. Food Chemistry, 333, 127447).

April 2021

We are happy to announce that the 8^th edition of NMKL method No. 67 now has been published. In the 8^th edition, the title of the method is changed back to “Presumptive Bacillus cereus. Determination in foods.”, and errors from the 7^th edition are corrected. In the 8th edition, it is still possible to use blood agar in parallel with selective agar, especially, when low counts are expected.

Feb 2021

The Regulation (EC) No 882/2004 has been replaced by the Regulation (EU) 2017/625. Thus, NMKL has revised the Nordic standard document from 2009 for a Nordic interpretation of the Control Regulation regarding National Reference Laboratories and Official Laboratories. Please cite NMKL when referring to the revised document which is freely available here:

Nordic interpretation of OCR on laboratory aspects NMKL Feb 2021

Dec 2020

Purchasing publications from NMKL is now easier and more efficient:

• choose publication(s)
• go to webshop and complete the order by paying with credit card
• download the publication directly from the website

Please consult our price list for prices and payment terms.

Nov. 2, 2020

As of 1st November 2020, the general secretariat of NMKL has moved from the Technical University of Denmark to the Institute of Marine Research in Norway. We would like to thank the former secretary general Nina Skall Nielsen and the former secretary Kirsten Becker Hansen for their great efforts during these past four years. The new secretary general is Eystein Oveland and the new secretary is Susanna Marie Petrova. We are currently working on updating all contact information on the website, and we thank you for your understanding as it takes some time to get everything in order.

Please note the new e-mail address and phone number:  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , +47 9026 3022 

Please note that the prices listed as "kr" on the website refer to DKK. We are currently working on clarifying any ambiguities around the currencies in the webshop. Please consult the price list for prices and updated payment terms.

The guidelines in NMKL procedure No. 19 provide several different procedures, which may be applied in the sensory evaluation of food packaging, and point out critical aspects and potential pitfalls of this work. The procedure focuses mainly on the sensory aspects of packaged foods relating to odour and taste evaluation, and consequently does not deal with issues such as the design and practical usability of the packaging. The field of application is wide and covers issues such as continuous production control of incoming materials, evaluation of storage conditions for packaged goods, and controls to ensure compliance with applicable rules and regulations.

The main change in this new version of the procedure is an update of the list of references. In addition, minor editorial corrections are made on the main content.