‘Science meets Policy’ conference 2020

On 25 September 2020 the inter-EURLs WG on NGS organised a conference with the support of the Med-Vet-Net association, entitled: 
‘Science meets Policy’ conference: Modern technologies to enable response to crises. Next Generation Sequencing to tackle food-borne diseases.
The presentations given at this conference can be found at the website of the EURL European Union Reference Laboratory (European Union Reference Laboratory )-E.coli, through this link: link to presentations 25 September 2020

‘Science meets Policy’ conference 2023

 After the success of the first Science Meets Policy virtual conference in September 2020 (over 500 participants from 49 countries), EFSA and the European Commission’s Inter-European Union Reference Laboratories (EURLs) Working Group on Whole Genome Sequencing are jointly organising the second event in the series. EFSA hosted the event in its premises in Parma, Italy on 5 and 6 September 2023. At the previous conference in 2020, stakeholders discussed the state of play regarding the development of an EU Europese unie (Europese unie) system for collecting and analysing genomic data from foodborne pathogens to support decision-making by the competent authorities. The event focused mainly on the challenges resulting from the absence of a legal framework.  The conference stimulated further discussion on new methodologies and standards for data sharing, and identified specific areas for action for possible inclusion in a roadmap that was specifically conceived by stakeholders to bridge the gaps identified at the first event. The event also gave special attention to the legal aspects of food safety, highlighting barriers to the endorsement of the approach mentioned above, and covered possible solutions that reflect the current and/or future strategies of the competent authorities and stakeholders participating in the event. The event was attended by around 150 in-person participants and 250 online connections.
The presentations can be found at the website of EFSA through this link: link to EFSA website 

Webinar on PTs Cluster Analysis 2023

Proficiency Tests on Next Generation Sequencing: approaches in use at the European Union Reference Laboratories (Webinar, 29 September, 2023)

According to Regulation (EU Europese unie (Europese unie)) 2017/625 (Article 101), the National Reference Laboratories shall, where appropriate, organize inter-laboratory comparative testing or Proficiency Tests between official laboratories. This event, organized by the Inter EURLs WG on NGS, aimed at presenting the approaches used by EURLs AMR, Campylobacter, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella and VTEC for Proficiency Tests on NGS, to share experiences learnt and serve as guidelines for the organization of Proficiency Tests on NGS at the Member State level.

See documents on the EURL European Union Reference Laboratory (European Union Reference Laboratory )-E. coli website following this link: link to page on website