Lab-News
New regulations, standards, methods and research findings that change laboratory work.
- New list of commodities in the deforestation-free products rules —
Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/2102 amends the list of relevant commodities and products. Soluble coffee and some palm oil derivatives come into scope, cattle hides and retreaded tyres drop out. - Pellets, briquettes and straw under quality control — a mandatory test certificate —
On 15 September 2026 the Polish government adopted a bill extending the fuel quality monitoring system to solid biofuels. Whoever places them on the market will have to test the fuel and issue a quality certificate. - EPA screens drinking water for more than a thousand contaminants at once —
In September 2026 the EPA announced a drinking water study using non-targeted analysis (NTA), which finds substances without deciding in advance what to look for. - Pyraclostrobin and phosphine stay on the market — approvals renewed —
The Commission renewed the approval of two active substances: phosphine by Regulation 2026/1968 and pyraclostrobin by Regulation 2026/1976. - Guidance for emissions verifiers under the carbon border mechanism —
The European Commission has issued guidance on verification and accreditation under the CBAM, addressed to verifiers and national accreditation bodies. - Fewer roads need an environmental decision, but sections are added up —
The Polish Council of Ministers regulation of 2 September 2026 exempts widening of hard surface roads up to 2 km and rebuilding up to 4 km outside protected areas from the environmental decision. - Producer charge for quaternary wastewater treatment put in question —
An Advocate General at the Court of Justice has proposed annulling the provisions under which pharmaceutical and cosmetics producers would cover at least 80 percent of the cost of removing micropollutants from wastewater. - Polish accreditation body opens up fire classification and EXAP reports —
A laboratory testing reaction to fire and fire resistance can now hold classification and extended application of results in its accreditation scope. The condition: its own accredited fire test on that product. - PFAS out of food packaging: three thresholds somebody has to measure —
From 12 August 2026 food-contact packaging cannot enter the EU market if it exceeds the PFAS thresholds. There is no test standard for this determination — the Commission points to a two-step route. - First binding MOAH limits in food — laboratories have a year to get the method ready —
On 13 May 2026 the Member States approved draft maximum levels for mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons. Publication is expected late this year, application from 2027. - Two-dimensional mass spectrometry moves from elite centres to the ordinary bench —
A team from the University of Warwick and Verdel Instruments has run 2DMS on a commercially available Q-TOF. Until now the technique needed an instrument costing millions — an upgrade kit is enough. - Pesticides measured at the riverbank: SERS in a microfluidic channel —
The STARDUST consortium, with the Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences among its partners, is building a portable optical sensor detecting several pesticides at once in surface and ground water. - The United Kingdom starts the transition to ISO/IEC 17020:2026 —
From 1 September 2026 the UK accreditation body assesses inspection bodies against the new edition. It becomes mandatory on 1 January 2028. - Whole genome sequencing becomes mandatory in foodborne outbreak investigations —
From 23 August 2026 EU countries must sequence the genomes of isolates of five foodborne pathogens. For microbiology the default method becomes sequencing, not serotyping. - Drinking water testing only with accreditation and register entry —
The amended Polish water act replaced sanitary-inspection approval with mandatory PCA accreditation and entry in a register kept by the Chief Sanitary Inspector. 21 August was the deadline for laboratories that already hold accreditation. - All packaging in the EU must be recyclable —
From 12 August 2026 packaging placed on the EU market must be recyclable and the producer has to demonstrate it. That is a new, steady stream of work for materials laboratories. - Germany reorders flexible scopes of accreditation into categories A, B and C —
A single system across all accreditation standards replaces the old I, II and III labels. A laboratory makes technical changes within its category on its own, without asking each time. - Slovakia: new methodology for describing the field and scope of accreditation —
From 1 August 2026 an updated methodological guideline applies, setting out how to word the field and scope of accreditation for product certification bodies. - EFSA lowers the safe level for TFA three and a half times —
The acceptable daily intake for trifluoroacetic acid falls from 0.05 to 0.014 mg per kilogram of body weight, with an acute reference dose of 0.07 mg/kg. - Amendment to the standard for detecting Listeria monocytogenes —
ISO 11290-1:2017/Amd 1:2026 introduces rules for storing samples before analysis and changes the control strain used to test culture media and reagents. - United States: one ICP-MS method instead of separate metal determinations —
From 20 July 2026 the United States inspection service tests ready-to-eat products for eighteen metals, using samples already collected under the allergen verification programme. - Ecodesign moves into implementation: first product groups and the Digital Product Passport —
The 2025–2030 working plan named the first product groups covered by ecodesign: textiles, furniture, tyres, mattresses, steel and aluminium. Each will carry a digital passport with data that has to be measured first. - Seawater pH measured with a dye, not an electrode — a new edition of the standard —
ISO 18191:2026 supersedes the 2015 edition. The spectrophotometric method with m-cresol purple covers pH on the total hydrogen ion scale from 7.4 to 8.2 at practical salinity from 20 to 40. - Environmental DNA from water gets its own sampling standard —
ISO 17805:2026 sets a uniform procedure for sampling, capturing and preserving environmental DNA (eDNA) from water, together with quality assurance rules for that stage. - Earthworms as an indicator of soil quality — new edition of the sampling standard —
EN ISO 23611-1:2026 modernises hand-sorting and extraction of earthworms, the method used to assess soil quality through the organisms living in it. - A standard for designing the sampling programme, not for the test itself —
EN ISO 23611-6:2026 complements the organism-specific methods in the series with rules for designing the whole soil invertebrate sampling programme. - XRF screening in electronics now covers nine elements and substances —
EN IEC 62321-3-1:2026 describes screening for lead, mercury, cadmium, chromium, bromine, phosphorus, chlorine, tin and antimony in electrotechnical products by X-ray fluorescence. - The United Kingdom updates its list of official food and feed laboratories —
The latest change of 30 June 2026 removed one of the laboratories testing for trichinella. Being on the list is the condition for working for enforcement authorities. - Drinking water in Poland: five new parameters in the health ministry regulation —
The regulation of 22 May 2026 took effect on 24 June, adding the sum of PFAS, bisphenol A, uranium and — conditionally — haloacetic acids and microcystin-LR to water testing. - The EA MLA mark registered in all member countries of the agreement —
Since 19 June 2026 the EA multilateral agreement mark has been registered in all member countries; Supplement 3 to EA-3/01 for Switzerland has also been published. - Legionella in two days instead of ten — and what the comparison with the reference method shows —
The MICA method labels the bacterial cell wall and counts microcolonies automatically. Agreement with culture to ISO 11731:2017 was 82.4 % and sensitivity 67.4 % — a faster result, but not yet an equivalent one. - Four conditions for testing drinking water in Poland —
Compliance monitoring may be run only by a laboratory that holds accreditation and accredited samplers, issues partial and complete reports, and is entered in the register kept by the Chief Sanitary Inspector. - Microplastics under REACH: an exemption for research and a stricter solid matrix condition —
Regulation (EU) 2026/1168 amends entry 78 of Annex XVII to REACH, the restriction on synthetic polymer microparticles. - PCR method for detecting genetically modified salmon in food —
CEN ISO/TS 21569-10:2026 sets out real-time PCR protocols for detecting genetically modified Atlantic salmon, together with interlaboratory validation data. - Wet gluten and gluten index — new edition of the mechanical method —
EN ISO 21415-2:2026 describes the mechanical determination of wet gluten and the gluten index in wheat and wheat flour. - Whole grain gets a single definition and technical criteria —
ISO 20810:2026 sets a global definition of whole grain and requirements for packaging, labelling and claims for whole-grain products. - New edition of the standard underpinning precision in all fuel testing —
ISO 4259-1:2026 sets out how to determine precision data — repeatability and reproducibility — for petroleum product test methods. - How to use precision data when a fuel test result is disputed —
ISO 4259-2:2026 covers the interpretation and application of precision data: comparing results, assessing conformity with a specification and settling disagreements. - Common reference conditions for testing measurement transmitters —
IEC 62828-1:2026 sets common reference conditions and test procedures for industrial and process measurement transmitters, whatever quantity they measure. - A separate test procedure for pressure transmitters —
IEC 62828-2:2026 supplements the general part with procedures specific to pressure transmitters — the most frequently calibrated group of process instruments. - Plain limit gauges for linear size brought up to date —
EN ISO 1938-1:2026 aligns requirements for plain limit gauges with the current system of geometrical product specification (GPS) standards. - Airflow resistance of sound-absorbing materials — the static method —
EN ISO 9053-1:2026 describes the static method for determining airflow resistance — the property that governs how well sound-absorbing materials work. - Polish accreditation body sets out rules for drinking and bathing water testing —
Communication no. 475 of 1 June 2026 describes accreditation rules for laboratories sampling and testing water intended for human consumption and bathing water. - Italy: the stricter PFAS limit in water postponed to June 2026 —
The sum of regulated PFAS drops from 0.50 to 0.10 µg/l. The budget law moved the 12 January 2026 date to June, while the accreditation requirement for laboratories stays unchanged. - Triple quadrupole ICP-MS with a dual-cell system —
At the ASMS 2026 conference Agilent presented the 9500 ICP-MS with a dual-cell system, easing the move from single to triple quadrupole. - Gas chromatographs with built-in diagnostics and guided troubleshooting —
The new 8890B and 8860B GC systems combine hardware with condition monitoring and guided troubleshooting, aimed at cutting unplanned downtime. - Slovakia signs up to the new global accreditation organisation —
On 18 May 2026 the Slovak accreditation body became a signatory of the Global Accreditation Cooperation arrangement — the organisation formed by merging the previous global structures. - Determining ash in plastics anew — the sixth edition of the general standard —
ISO 3451-1:2026 supersedes the 2019 edition and gives general methods together with test conditions for a range of plastics. The European version EN ISO 3451-1:2026 adopts the text unchanged. - Fibre concrete pulled directly, without bending — the first standard of its kind —
ISO 13180-1:2026 gives a direct tensile test method for fibre-reinforced cementitious composites that show strain-hardening behaviour. The specimen is loaded uniaxially, without any parasitic bending moment. - End of the transition period for proficiency testing providers —
The three-year transition to ISO/IEC 17043:2023 ended in May 2026. Accreditation to the 2010 edition is no longer recognised under the global mutual recognition arrangement. - One standard for testing six chemicals used to treat drinking water —
EN 12485:2026 brings together test methods for calcium carbonate, high-calcium lime, half-burnt dolomite, magnesium oxide, calcium magnesium carbonate and dolomitic lime. - Draft drinking water regulation: PFAS, bisphenol A and lower metal limits —
A draft regulation of the Polish health ministry implements the EU drinking water directive. Sum of PFAS, bisphenol A, microcystin-LR and haloacetic acids join the parameter list, while limits for lead and chromium are halved. - Italy changes how a scope of accreditation is written —
A new edition of document RT-23 sets out how a testing laboratory must define its field of accreditation. It applies from 1 November 2026. - Sampling and measurement uncertainty for pesticide residues in a single regulation —
Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/765 replaced Directive 2002/63/EC. The default expanded uncertainty used when enforcing maximum residue levels is 50 %, and 20 % for copper. - Residential emission testing now covers magnetic field and wireless charging —
The fourth edition of IEC 61000-6-3 supersedes the 2020 one. It adds magnetic field emission requirements including measurement of the wireless power transfer function, and the 9–150 kHz range on the mains supply. - Slovakia: test results keep their international recognition —
The good laboratory practice working group at the OECD approved the national monitoring programme report in April 2026. - A sum of twenty-five PFAS as a quality standard for surface waters —
Directive (EU) 2026/805 amends three water directives. It sets a standard for the sum of 25 PFAS in surface waters, the sum of 20 PFAS in groundwater, and places bisphenol A among priority hazardous substances. - A new edition of the standard for inspection bodies —
On 27 March 2026 the third edition of ISO/IEC 17020 was published — the biggest change since 2012. Risk-based thinking now also covers operational processes and the validity of results. - Universal PFAS restriction: consultation until 25 May —
On 2 March 2026 the risk assessment committee backed a universal PFAS ban, and a sixty-day consultation opened on 26 March. The scope of PFAS testing in products, water and wastewater will widen markedly. - Ready-to-use Legionella media instead of in-house preparation —
A range of ready-poured plates for detecting and enumerating Legionella in water, aligned with the ISO 11731 workflow, has reached the market. It removes the most variable step of the test — preparing selective media in-house. - Czechia: flexible scope of accreditation in four degrees of freedom —
A laboratory may modify methods within its granted degree of freedom as long as the measurement principle stays. The list of such activities was updated on 13 March 2026. - Italy: official food control analyses excluded from value added tax —
On 9 March 2026 the tax administration confirmed that fees for analyses done by official laboratories within food and feed controls fall outside value added tax. - Concrete standard EN 206 split into two parts — new edition supersedes EN 206:2013+A2:2021 —
On 19 January 2026 CEN approved EN 206-1:2026, issued in March 2026. Part 1 covers performance, requirements, factory production control and assessment criteria for individual values. - Conformity assessment and certification of concrete in a separate standard, EN 206-2:2026 —
The second part of the split concrete standard, approved by CEN on 19 January 2026 and issued in March 2026, covers conformity assessment and certification only. - France tightens the requirements for asbestos laboratories —
Revision 15 of the reference document for asbestos laboratories applies from 1 March 2026 and covers testing, calibration and sampling. - China: new quality control standards for food testing laboratories —
From 1 March 2026 new editions of laboratory quality control standards apply — separately for physico-chemical and for microbiological food testing. - China: 370 new pesticide residue limits and 14 new methods —
The new edition of the national food safety standard on maximum pesticide residue limits applies from 1 March 2026 and replaces the 2021 and 2022 editions. - The carbon footprint of industrial batteries must be declared —
From 18 February 2026 industrial batteries above 2 kWh require a verified carbon footprint declaration. It must rest on calculated life-cycle data. - Cybersecurity testing of radio equipment moves under the Cyber Resilience Act —
On 16 February 2026 the Commission adopted a regulation repealing delegated act 2022/30 with effect from 11 December 2027. Until that day the radio directive requirements apply, from the next one the Cyber Resilience Act takes over. - An ion chromatograph half the height that dilutes the sample by itself —
A new ion chromatograph for water testing fits under fifty centimetres in height and dilutes samples that fall outside the calibration range by itself. An optional dual injection allows anions and cations to be determined in one run. - China: accreditation guidance for laboratories testing laser processing equipment —
On 4 February 2026 the national accreditation committee issued technical guidance for laboratories testing laser processing equipment. - Technical cleanliness: the third edition of the guideline moves into electronics —
The third edition of VDA 19.1 supersedes the 2015 one. Alongside mechanical damage mechanisms it now covers short circuits, clearance and creepage distances, contact resistance and optical blockage. - The UK PFAS plan: a statutory review of drinking water rules announced —
In February 2026 the government published a national PFAS plan, announcing a review of water quality rules with a view to setting binding limits for these compounds. - UK water regulator: 48 PFAS compounds and three action tiers —
Water companies monitor the sum of 48 named PFAS and report a result at or above 0.1 µg/l as a water quality event requiring action. - Slovakia: PFAS testing in drinking water from 13 January 2026 —
The new indicators for total PFAS and the sum of PFAS are tested where risk management of the catchment area points to their possible presence. - Germany: the PFAS limit in drinking water is in force, some 50 laboratories are accredited —
Since 12 January 2026 the sum of twenty PFAS in drinking water must not exceed 0.1 µg/l. A second, stricter value — 0.02 µg/l for four compounds — starts in 2028. - Czechia: new drinking water limits — PFAS, bisphenol A and haloacetic acids —
From 12 January 2026 limits for new indicators apply under the Czech drinking water decree. For PFAS the value is 100 nanograms per litre. - Czechia sets up a state reference laboratory for PFAS —
The state health institute is opening a laboratory meant to settle disputed determinations of forever chemicals in drinking water. - PFAS in drinking water under mandatory control across the EU —
From 12 January 2026 testing drinking water for PFAS is mandatory across the EU. For many water laboratories that means extending their accreditation scope. - New rules for construction products —
From 8 January 2026 most construction products fall under a new regulation. One body confirms the product type, based on results for all essential characteristics. - The Netherlands drops COD from the wastewater levy and brings in organic carbon —
From 1 January 2026 the wastewater discharge levy is based on total organic carbon determined to NEN-EN-ISO 20236:2024, not on chemical oxygen demand. The reason is the potassium dichromate, mercury and hexavalent chromium used in the old method. - Lithuania merges accreditation and standardisation into one agency —
From January 2026 the national accreditation bureau and the standardisation department work as one institution — the Lithuanian Accreditation and Standardisation Agency. - France: requirements for laboratories testing construction products —
A separate reference document sets the accreditation conditions for laboratories testing under the system of assessment and verification of constancy of performance of construction products. - USA: a method for forty PFAS across five sample types is in preparation —
The environment agency is developing a method for forty PFAS compounds in water, soil, sediment, landfill leachate and fish tissue. - Poland reshuffles laboratory work across sanitary inspection stations —
From 1 January 2026 a new list of sanitary-epidemiological stations performing laboratory tests applies, split into seven areas including water, food and chemicals. - France adds PFAS to routine sanitary control of drinking water —
From 1 January 2026 the twenty most common PFAS are a mandatory part of routine drinking water testing, with a 0.10 µg/l limit for their sum. - France introduces a confirmation visit in accreditation oversight —
From 1 January 2026 the accreditation body may run an extra assessment when there is doubt whether an audit done by an accredited body reflects reality. - Lithuania: emission measurements and soil testing only with accreditation —
Laboratories measuring pollutants emitted from sources into the environment and testing mechanical soil properties must hold accreditation. - Lithuania: the first accredited environmental laboratory in the west of the country —
The university laboratory in Klaipėda obtained accreditation for sampling and physico-chemical testing of water, wastewater, sludge and soil. - Lithuania: water testing under hygiene standard HN 24 —
Safety and quality requirements for drinking water are set by the national hygiene standard HN 24:2023; water utilities run their continuous monitoring against it. - USA: one PFAS method for wastewater, soil, sludge and tissue —
The environment agency has a validated method 1633A for PFAS in aqueous samples, solids, biosolids and tissue — by liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry. - USA: two new PFAS drinking water methods on the way —
The agency announces method 534 — direct injection for nine compounds — and method 563 for ultra-short-chain PFAS, expected to be finalised in 2026. - USA: change in proficiency testing fields for environmental laboratories —
From 1 January 2026 the proficiency testing tables for non-potable water replace gamma-chlordane with trans-chlordane. - China: new accreditation criteria for inspection bodies —
The national accreditation committee issued a new version of the competence criteria for inspection bodies — a document marked 2026. - China: a new list of accreditation documents for 2026 —
From 1 January 2026 an updated list of normative documents of the laboratory accreditation system applies — the list a laboratory is assessed against. - Two global accreditation organisations have merged into one —
From 1 January 2026 global accreditation cooperation is run by one organisation instead of two. Existing accreditations and certificates remain valid. - Deforestation-free product rules postponed by a year —
Large and medium operators apply the deforestation-free rules from 30 December 2026, smaller companies from 30 June 2027. The regulation names isotope and genetic testing outright as the way to check where the raw material came from. - The first EU soil law sets requirements for laboratories —
The soil monitoring directive entered into force on 16 December 2025 and countries have three years to transpose it. For the first time minimum quality requirements are set for laboratories analysing soil. - United Kingdom: a new edition of requirements for food and feed control laboratories —
Document LAB 33, second edition of December 2025, sets out how the UK accreditation body assesses official laboratories and national reference laboratories. - The second will be redefined — optical clocks on the way to 2030 —
Optical clocks are already about a hundred times more accurate than the caesium fountains behind today’s definition of the second. The conference on weights and measures is to approve a roadmap towards a new definition with a 2030 date. - Technical cleanliness: the test turns into continuous process monitoring —
The third edition of the VDA 19.1 guideline appeared in October 2025. Cleanliness control stops being a final test and becomes continuous process monitoring. - Microplastics in water finally have their own standard —
Microplastics in drinking water finally have one standard: particles from 1 µm to 5 mm are counted and classified by infrared and Raman microscopy. The result is a particle count in size classes, not a single mass value. - Radio devices cannot reach the market without cybersecurity testing —
From 1 August 2025 every radio device sold in the EU must pass cybersecurity testing. It covers protection of the network, of personal data and of the user money. - Self-driving laboratories collect ten times more data —
A new way of running experiments gives automated materials laboratories at least ten times more data in the same time, while using fewer reagents. The next trials are still planned by a person. - The new hydrogen quality specification covers combustion engines —
The hydrogen quality standard has a second edition with grades for combustion engines — vehicular and stationary — alongside the fuel cell requirements. In an interlaboratory comparison only three of thirteen laboratories stayed within the permitted deviations. - Urban wastewater under micropollutant surveillance —
The new wastewater directive adds a fourth treatment stage for pharmaceutical and cosmetic residues and an obligation to monitor PFAS and microplastics. Common measurement methods are to be ready in 2027. - Air: counting ultrafine particles is added —
From 12 December 2026 air must be tested not only for dust mass but also for particle number and size distribution. In areas with high concentrations, ultrafine particle supersites will be set up — at least one per five million inhabitants. - Lower mycotoxin limits and a required limit of quantification —
Deoxynivalenol limits have gone down and T-2 and HT-2 toxins in cereals now have their own values. The method must detect at least twice as low as the limit itself.