What is the reference activity?
For certain pathogens (viruses, bacteria, parasites) or regulated or emerging chemical contaminants of major importance, the health authorities need a high-performance monitoring and analysis system, relying on a network of reliable laboratories to carry out the official analyses.
For each regulated pathogen or contaminant to be monitored, laboratories approved for carrying out the analyses, as well as a so-called “reference” laboratory, are designated at national (LNR – national reference laboratory) and European (LRUE – reference laboratory) levels. of the European Union – EU) by the health authorities concerned. The reference laboratory is the guarantor of the reliability of the analyzes carried out by all the approved laboratories of the network that it coordinates (departmental laboratories for the LNR, and LNR of the various EU Member States for the LRUE). It develops the analysis methods, transfers them to approved laboratories and ensures that the quality of the results is consistent throughout the territory. With its 11 laboratories spread throughout France, ANSES holds more than 90 national, European or international (OIE, FAO or WHO) reference mandates (PDF).