JRC: certified reference material ERM-BD300 — cooked rice with cereulide at 11.3 ± 0.8 µg/kg for checking LC-MS/MS methods according to ISO 18465
On 18 February 2026 the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) announced the certified reference material ERM-BD300 for determining cereulide — a Bacillus cereus toxin — in starch-rich food. Food control laboratories can use it to verify and validate their methods.
- The matrix is long-grain white rice: cooked, cryogenically milled, converted into a watery slurry, freeze-dried, milled again and mixed. Each vial holds at least 6.0 g of powder (equivalent to 18.5 g of cooked rice). The level was chosen below the symptom onset in adults according to published data and above the limit of quantification of the methods.
- The certified cereulide value is 11.3 µg/kg with an expanded uncertainty of 0.8 µg/kg (k = 2), obtained after organic solvent extraction and LC-MS/MS measurement based on ISO 18465:2017 and traceable to the SI. Measurements were made by 10 laboratories within the scope of ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation, including AGES, ANSES, BfR, Sciensano and the Finnish Food Authority.
- Before analysis, 1 mass part of powder is mixed with 2.09 parts of water (e.g. 0.809 g of powder and 1.691 g of water for the 2.5 g test portion of ISO 18465); the minimum sample intake is 1 g of reconstituted material. The material is stored at −20 °C, and after opening the value remains valid for six days if the sampled portion is kept at 4 °C. The JRC produces it under ISO 17034 accreditation.
- Cereulide is extremely heat-resistant. According to the 2023 One Health report, Bacillus cereus toxins caused several hundred outbreaks in eight EU countries and Norway, with 101 hospitalisations and four deaths. The JRC offers about 650 non-nuclear reference materials and distributes around 20,000 units a year.
Source: JRC — New control material to improve protection of consumers from food poisoning (18.02.2026)