Development and validation of a ready to use cryo-EROD assay for the standardized screening of dioxins and dioxin-like compounds in foodstuffs Walkiria Levy a, ∗ walkiria.levy@helmholtz-muenchen.de Karl-Werner Schramm a, d Florian Mertes a Bernhard Henkelmann a Martina Maywald b Peter Uciechowski b Alexander Loa c Johannes Haedrich e Ines Thiem f Henner Hollert g Roland Goerlich b, h Thorsten Bernsmann i Lothar Rink b a Helmholtz Zentrum München - German Research Center for Environmental Health (GmbH), Molecular EXposomics (MEX), Ingolstädter Landstrasse 1, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany b Institute of Immunology, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstrasse 30, 52074, Aachen, Germany c AcCELLerate GmbH, Osterfeldstraße 12-14, 22529, Hamburg, Germany d TUM, Wissenschaftszentrum Weihenstephan für Ernährung, Landnutzung und Umwelt, Department für Biowissenschaftliche Grundlagen, Weihenstephaner Steig 23, 85350, Freising, Germany e Chemisches und Veterinäruntersuchungsamt Freiburg, Bissierstrasse 5, 79114, Freiburg, Germany f Lower Saxony State Institute for Consumer Protection and Food Safety (LAVES), Food and Veterinary Institute Braunschweig/Hannover Dresdenstrasse 2, 38124, Braunschweig, Germany g Institut für Umweltforschung, RWTH Aachen University, Worringer Weg 1, 52074, Aachen, Germany h Institut für wirkungsbezogene Analytik e.v., Kerpen, Germany i Chemisches und Veterinäruntersuchungsamt Münsterland-Emscher-Lippe, Postfach 1980, 48007, Münster, Germany ∗ Corresponding author. Abstract Recent European regulations have indicated the need for new bioanalytical screening methods capable of monitoring dioxin and dioxin-like compounds in foodstuffs and environmental samples, cost-effectively and with