Background

Laboratory proficiency testing is an essential element of laboratory quality assurance. With the increasing demands for independent proof of competence from regulatory bodies and customers, proficiency testing is relevant to all laboratories testing food for quality and safety in every country. Perhaps as importantly for the technical performance of the laboratory, regular proficiency testing provides independent feedback on the quality of analytical results, enabling laboratories to monitor and improve performance over time.

Resources

Eurachem provides a range of resources relevant to the implementation and use of proficiency testing:

• The Proficiency Testing working group coordinates Eurachem activity on Proficiency Testing.
• A joint paper on Selection, Use and Interpretation of Proficiency Testing (PT) Schemes by Laboratories provides detailed information on choosing a PT scheme and interpreting the results from PT.
• Information leaflets provide short, general information on PT. The leaflet Proficiency Testing Schemes and other interlaboratory comparisons describes the aims and organisation of PT schemes together with their advantages and limitations, and is currently available in 13 languages. Pre- and post-analytical proficiency testing gives examples of proficiency testing which are intended to provide feedback on the quality of steps preceding and following the measurement itself, such as interpretation of results and assessment of compliance with a standard.
• To assist identification of technical information, the PT Working Group maintains a comprehensive Bibliography of PT/EQA Publications, currently listing over 180 references.