{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/eu-regulation-2009-152/annex-V/division-B/chapter-II/division-2",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/eu-regulation-2009-152/annex-V/division-B/chapter-II/division-2.json",
  "legislation": "eur/2009/152",
  "legislation_title": "Commission Regulation (EC) No 152/2009 of 27 January 2009 laying down the methods of sampling and analysis for the official control of feed (Text with EEA relevance)",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/eu-regulation-2009-152",
  "path": "annex/V/division/B/chapter/II/division/2",
  "kind": "division",
  "number": "2",
  "heading": "Background",
  "text": "For calculation of TEQ concentrations, the concentrations of the individual substances in a given sample shall be multiplied by their respective Toxic Equivalency Factor (TEF) (see footnote 1 of Chapter I) and subsequently summed to give the total concentration of dioxin-like compounds expressed as TEQs.\nFor the purposes of this Part B, the accepted specific limit of quantification of an individual congener means the lowest content of the analyte that can be measured with reasonable statistical certainty, fulfilling the identification criteria as described in internationally recognised standards, for example, in standard EN 16215:2012 (Animal feed — Determination of dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs by GC-HRMS and of indicator PCBs by GC-HRMS) and/or in EPA methods 1613 and 1668 as revised.\nThe limit of quantification of an individual congener may be identified as\n(a)the concentration of an analyte in the extract of a sample which produces an instrumental response at two different ions to be monitored with a S/N (signal/noise) ratio of 3:1 for the less intensive raw data signal; or\n(b)if for technical reasons the signal-to-noise calculation does not provide reliable results, the lowest concentration point on a calibration curve that gives an acceptable (≤ 30 %) and consistent (measured at least at the start and at the end of an analytical series of samples) deviation to the average relative response factor calculated for all points on the calibration curve in each series of samples. The limit of quantification (LOQ) is calculated from the lowest concentration point taking into account the recovery of internal standards and sample intake.\nBioanalytical screening methods will not give results at the congener level but merely an indication of the TEQ level, expressed in BEQ to acknowledge the fact that not all compounds present in a sample extract that produce a response in the test may fulfill or meet all requirements of the TEQ-principle.\nScreening and confirmatory methods may only be applied for control of a certain matrix if the methods are sensitive enough to detect levels reliably at the action threshold or maximum level.",
  "extent": "E+W+S+N.I.",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F1",
      "text": "Substituted by Commission Regulation (EU) 2017/771 of 3 May 2017 amending Regulation (EC) No 152/2009 as regards the methods for the determination of the levels of dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls (Text with EEA relevance)."
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f1",
      "text": "Bioanalytical methods are not specific to those congeners included in the TEF-scheme. Other structurally related AhR-active compounds may be present in the sample extract which contribute to the overall response. Therefore, bioanalytical results cannot be an estimate but rather an indication of the TEQ level in the sample."
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eur/2009/152/annex/V/division/B/chapter/II/division/2",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-11-01T14:51:38.610873+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}