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This study will be performed by undertaking a literature search of methodology, liaising with laboratories currently participating in the UK nitrate monitoring programme, selection of the most suitable analytical method, in-house validation and ruggedness testing of the method and organisation of a collaborative trial.
It is important that the Food Standards Agency has confidence in the results generated by the UK nitrate monitoring programme, to support negotiations within the European Union and to provide evidence for the UK derogation on nitrate levels in lettuce and spinach. Concerns over the consistency of analytical results obtained when homogeneous sub-samples were sent to a number of laboratories, coupled with rather poor overall FAPAS results for nitrate, led the Agency to commission an investigation of nitrate extraction methods.
<p>Find more about this project and other FSA food safety-related projects at the <a href="http://www.food.gov.uk/science/research/" target="_blank">Food
Standards Agency Research webpage</a>.