Mooijman, KA2025-01-142025-01-142025-01-1310.21945/RIVM-2024-0026https://rivm.openrepository.com/handle/10029/628151In May 2024, the EU Reference Laboratory (EURL) for Salmonella organised the workshop for the European National Reference Laboratories (NRLs) for the 29th year. The aim of the workshop is to exchange information between the EURL and the NRLs. For the first time, the workshop was held both live and online. A recurring item is the annual proficiency tests organised by the EURL to monitor the quality of the NRLs. The NRLs scored well in the three proficiency tests of 2023–2024. In two proficiency tests, the laboratories had to analyse chicken faeces and mussels for the presence of Salmonella. In the third test, they had to type Salmonella bacteria. This report gives a brief summary of the proficiency tests. More details about the results will be published separately for each proficiency test. There were several presentations with information about the origin of Salmonella infections among humans. Occasionally, humans become infected by consumption of meat contaminated with a Salmonella bacterium. The animals may have become infected by consumption of animal feed containing Salmonella. Every year, a number of NRLs-Salmonella give a presentation on how they fulfil their statutory duties. This year, these were the NRLs-Salmonella from Greece, Croatia and Poland. At this workshop, for the first time, discussions in small groups took place about the wishes and suggestions of the NRLs regarding the activities of the EURL-Salmonella. Among other things, it was proposed to organise proficiency tests for the detection of Salmonella in other products, like insects or chocolate. The bacterium is sometimes hard to detect in these products and some amendments of the detection method may be needed. The performance of the NRLs can then be tested in a proficiency test. The EURL-Salmonella forms part of the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) and organises this workshop every year. One important task of the EURL-Salmonella is to monitor the performance of the European NRLs for this bacterium.application/pdfenRIVM rapport 2024-0026Report2025-01-14