Challenges in Food Microbiology Proficiency Testing

Inter-laboratory comparisons aim to ensure the equivalence of the analytical results provided by different laboratories, in “real-life” conditions. Food microbiology PTs including only reference materials, artificially inoculated samples or reference strains are far from the routine conditions. In order to really challenge the analytical methods used by the laboratories, PTs should include naturally contaminated food matrices, foodborne strains and stressed inocula. The implementation of such parameters requires raising many challenges, from the characterization of the strains to the stabilization of the samples