Training workshop on sample collection and E.coli testing for Ghana and Sri Lanka, February 2025

In February 2025, the FAO Reference Centre hosted a training workshop at its laboratory in the UK for delegates from Ghana and Sri Lanka. The principal focus of the workshop was practical training in the method for determination of E. coli in bivalves using the most probable number (MPN) method described in the ISO (International Organization for Standardization) international standard ISO 16649-3, which is the reference method in both European Union (EU) legislation and the Codex Alimentarius Standard for Live and Raw Bivalve Molluscs.

Delegates took part in training sessions in the laboratory covering sample preparation, homogenisation, preparation of dilutions, inoculation and incubation of primary and secondary media and interpretation and counting of media after incubation. In addition, classroom presentations on the principles of the MPN method, and the calculation of results from the raw tube counts using the FAORC MPN calculator were provided. 

Other topics covered in the classroom included the main public health risks associated with bivalve shellfish, sampling strategies and sampling protocols, and practical sampling officer considerations for taking samples from the environment; the latter presentation acted as preparation for a practical shellfish sampling exercise conducted at the beach adjacent to the laboratory.

The programme also included a visit to a local commercial oyster harvesting area, and the adjacent commercial depuration facility, which provided the delegates with insights into shellfish production and post-harvest treatments in the UK.