Preparation of a Cabbage Refrerence Material for Environmental Monitoring and Food Analyses

Objective

Reference materials of plants are needed to verify the accuracy of chemical measurements for a range of elements. The Bowen's kale was offering such a material and has been very successful. A project has therefore started within the 2nd Framework programme to prepare a cabbage reference material with low element contents. This project is now being complemented by the preparation of another cabbage material containing high element contents; the material will be grown on soils contaminated with metals and complexing agents so that the cabbage material may accumulate high element contents.

Cabbage is frequently used in environmental monitoring and food control. The two proposed cabbage reference materials (low and high element contents) will enable to verify the accuracy of chemical analysis at different levels of concentrations (i.e. close to background levels and for contaminated samples) which is of paramount importance in view of achieving comparability of data. The high-level materials would be certified for some elements of the 'black list" of high toxicological interest and nutritive importance (Council Directive 464/74/EEC), i.e. As, Cd, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, Se and Zn; the low-level material would be certified for elements such as As, Cu and Ni.
The tasks 1 and 2 are almost completed. After preparation of the high-level reference material, the tasks 3 and 4 will be started in early 1998, followed by the certification campaign.
To meet the objectives, the following eight tasks will be carried out: (1) Production of a cabbage containing high element amounts; (2) cutting and freeze-drying; (3) homogenisation and bottling; (4) homogeneity testing; (5) stabilitu testing; (6) certification campaigns of the two cabbage candidate CRMs; (7) technical and stastistical evaluation of the results; and (8) writting of the certification report.

Programme(s)

• FP4-SMT - Specific research and technological development programme in the field of standards, measurements and testing, 1994-1998

Topic(s)

• 03 - Measurements related to the needs of society

Call for proposal

Data not available

Funding Scheme

CSC - Cost-sharing contracts

Coordinator

Internationales Hochschilinstitut Zittau

Address

23,markt
02763 Zittau
Germany

Participants (3)

ARBEITSGEMEINSCHAFT FUER BIOINDIKATION UMWELTBEOBACHTUNG UND OEKOLOGISCHE PLANUNG

Switzerland

Address

12,quartiergasse 12
3013 Bern

Agricultural Research Center of Finland

Finland

Address

31600 Jokioinen

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES

Italy

Address

Via Enrico Fermi 1, Tp 460
21020 Barasso