Competence Centre for Elements, Vienna (CC WELE)

The Centre for Elements, Vienna, is your contact for element-analytical questions, especially regarding trace elements and heavy metals, as well as for fertiliser-analytical questions, notably organic fertilisers, livestock manure, and compost. These roles and functions derive from our responsibility for executing the Food Safety and Consumer Protection Act, the Fertiliser Act, and EU and national regulations.

We process samples from the food, veterinary, pharmaceutical, agricultural, and environmental sectors:

Samples from the food sector:
Milk and milk products, meat and meat products, fats and oils, fruits, fruit juices, vegetables (incl. canned vegetables), salads, mushrooms, cereals, bread and bakery products, baby food, coffee, cacao and confectionary, honey, food supplements, cosmetics, consumer products, toys, etc.

Samples from the fertiliser sector:
Determination of trace elements and heavy metals in mineral fertilisers, determination of main, auxiliary, and microelements in organic  commercial fertilisers, livestock manure, liquid manure for the production of biogas, and compost.

Quality control
of food, feed, fertilizers etc. in order to ensure the total element contents of various labelled items e.g. essential nutritive elements) as well as sufficiently low levels of unwanted trace elements (e.g. toxic metals). In special cases, mobile fractions can be obtained by selective leaching methods.

Evaluations on the basis of:
Signs of deficiency (particularly in plant material)
Signs of poisoning in blood, serum, or tissue

Testing the muscles, liver, and kidneys of slaughter animal, deer, and fish for lead, cadmium, and mercury as part of the National Residue Monitoring Plan for foods of animal origin.

The Competence Centre for Elements, Vienna, acts as National Reference Laboratory for Heavy Metals in Animal Tissues and Food.

Research activity and participation in projects involving a wide range of specialities, some in cooperation with other AGES expert departments or University institutes. Recent projects include the evaluation of total element background data of honey, meat and sausages, eggs, bread and wheat, potatoes, and carrots.

In fulfilling our functions,
we rely on our well-trained and experienced staff as well as on state-of-the-art analytical equipment, including microwave digestion systems, flame AAS, graphite furnace AAS, hydrid AAS, ICP-OES, ICP-MS, element analysers, and flame and spectral photometers.

Contact
We are happy to provide you with further information:

Competence Centre for Elements, Vienna
Spargelfeldstrasse 191
A-1220 Wien

Fertilizer analytics and Head of Competence Centre
Dipl.Ing. Gerhard Burdicek
phone: +43 (0)50 555-32 800
e-mail: gerhard.burdicek@ages.at

Micro element- and heavy metal analytics
Doz. Dr. Manfred Sager (Deputy Head of Competence Centre)
phone: +43 (0)50 555-32 801
e-mail: manfred.sager@ages.at