[Standardization of the isolation of Salmonella from food and feed stuff]

Developments in the standardization of the methods used in the isolation of Salmonella are reviewed from the sixties when it was noticed for the first time that different results were obtained when different methods were used, via the seventies when a single method was standardized and ultimately internationally accepted in the late seventies, followed by the finding that differences in results between laboratories were still obtained despite standardization and that this could only be overcome by the development of reference samples, with which each laboratory could check the performance of the standard method. Once reference material had been developed in the early eighties, the need for a standard method came to an end. Everyone can use the method of his choice today as long as reproducibility of the results is ensured. Reproducibility may be tested with the reference material.