Overview

The present standard describes the quantitative analysis of the emetic toxin cereulide using High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) connected to mass spectrometry (MS). This standard is applicable to the analysis of the toxin in products intended for human consumption and has been prepared under a mandate M/381 issued to CEN by the European Commission. Cereulide, the emetic toxin produced in foods by certain strains of Bacillus cereus, is a heat and acid stable toxin that causes nausea and vomiting when ingested. In very rare cases, people can die after ingestion of the toxin. Due to its stability, the toxin may still be present even when B. cereus can no longer be detected. Several methods have been developed for the detection and/or quantification of the toxin. Some of these methods are nonspecific bio-assays and other methods are specifically based on the chemical analysis using liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) for the detection and quantification of the toxin. The chemical methods are more specific for cereulide and have, therefore, been chosen as the starting point for standardization of a method for the quantification of cereulide. The committee responsible for this standard is NA 057-01-06 AA "Mikrobiologie der Lebensmittelkette" ("Microbiology of the food chain") at DIN.

Document: references other documents

Responsible national committee

NA 057-01-06-02 AK - Spore forming bacteria  

Responsible european committee

CEN/TC 463 - Microbiology of the food chain