New control material to improve protection of consumers from food poisoning

A new certified reference material (CRM) will help food control laboratories across the EU and beyond to improve detection of cereulide, a toxin that can cause serious food poisoning. The CRM will help labs to measure cereulide in starch-rich foods such as rice, pasta and potato-based dishes which are often sources of food-poisoning outbreaks caused by cereulide.

Developed by scientists in the Joint Research Centre's highly specialised labs for material processing, ERM®-BD300 is a rice reference material intended for the assessment of method performance and for quality control. It contains a precisely determined concentration of cereulide.

Cooked rice was selected as CRM food matrix due to cereulide-related food-poisoning outbreaks often occurring in starch-rich foods. The concentration of cereulide in the CRM was chosen to be below a symptom onset in adults (according to published data) and above the limit of quantification (LOQ) of methods for being able to assign an accurate reference value (certified value).

The new CRM supports food safety laboratories by enabling them to verify the correctness of their methods or to validate analytical methods for measuring - including detecting, identifying and quantifying - cereulide in food, in line with the international standard ISO 18465. For both applications, a CRM is an indispensable tool for laboratories to demonstrate the correctness of their quantitative cereulide measurements in food.

ISO 18465 defines a specific laboratory method for measuring cereulide in food, based on mass spectrometry analysis. The new CRM helps to safeguard and enhance the quality of measurement results, and improve food safety and consumer protection in the EU.

What is cereulide?

Cereulide is produced by Bacillus cereus, a bacterium commonly found in the environment. In case of insufficient hygiene practices and inappropriate storage temperatures, among other toxins, Bacillus cereus releases cereulide, a risk to human health. Cereulide is extremely heat resistant and therefore difficult to destroy during food preparation.

Even very small amounts of cereulide, just a few micrograms per kilogram of body weight, can trigger symptoms such as nausea and vomiting. Intoxication symptoms are usually mild (vomiting) and cease after one or a few days. However, in a few cases, ingestion of cereulide through contaminated food can result in fatalities due to liver failure and acute encephalopathy.

In 2023 alone, several hundred food-poisoning outbreaks related to Bacillus cereus toxins were reported in eight EU countries and Norway. These outbreaks affected several thousand people, led to 101 hospitalisations and four deaths, according to the EU One Health 2023 Zoonoses report.

Most recently, various producers recalled batches of baby formula worldwide for fears that it contained cereulide. In the food industry context, the toxin can find its way into manufactured products through the addition of contaminated ingredients.

Consumer protection in the EU and beyond

For decades, the JRC has supported laboratories in EU countries and beyond by developing tools that enable reliable and comparable measurement results. This is essential for effective food safety controls, regulatory decisions and the protection of consumers' health.

The JRC is one of the major developers and producers of reference materials in the world, thanks to its production facilities. It currently provides about 650 non-nuclear reference materials and distributes around 20,000 units per year to testing laboratories worldwide.

Competent authorities in the Member States are responsible for the day-to-day enforcement of EU food law through official controls, inspections, and monitoring for ensuring that food and feed placed on their markets are safe.

Related content

JRC Certified reference material report for cereulide toxin

Certified reference material ERM-BD300

Certified Reference Materials catalogue of the JRC

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