Importance of the Certified Reference Materials Programmes for the European Union

For move than 20 years, through successive research programmes, the European Commission has supported the improvement of the quality of physical, chemical and biological measurements by means of certified reference materials (CRMs). CRMs establish the traceability of measurement results and hence are a key element in ensuring the accuracy and reliability of measurements that are required in order to control the quality of products and services provided by industry and to monitor the environment and the health and safety of citizens in Europe. The selection of CRMs to be developed has always been end-user driven and has consequently met the emerging needs of industry, in particular small and medium size enterprises, and of testing laboratories concerned with the application of European regulations in the fields of the environment, food and agriculture, and health and safety. In this article, the evolution of the types of CRMs developed, the types of end users that initiated the development of the CRMs, and the types of customers of the CRMs is reviewed. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.