Training lab to raise bar on food safety

AN international food safety training laboratory is being opened in Yorkshire today, as part of a strategy to improve the quality of food imported into Britain and the European Union.

The facility is being launched by The Food and Environment Research Agency (Fera), and the US-based analytical equipment manufacturer Waters.

Adrian Belton, the chief executive of Fera, said the new laboratory would help to improve consumers’ confidence in their food supply, following a number of recent scares.

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According to Fera, a “significant proportion” of food safety incidents reported in the EU are due to imports.

A spokesman for Fera, which is based near York, said: “The EU and other international organisations have recognised the value of improving food safety testing globally, so that risks can be identified and tackled at source.”

In the EU alone, the value of exports and imports of foodstuffs today exceeds £690bn.

The Fera International Food Safety Training Laboratory (Fera IFSTL), based near York, will primarily train scientists who are involved with exporting foods to Europe. Experts from Fera will lead training programmes that teach “best practice” methods to analysts from overseas, using state-of-the art technology and equipment for analysing chemical contaminants and residues in food.

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The Fera IFSTL is being launched as part of an international network of food safety training laboratories, which are aimed at raising standards of food safety testing globally. The first IFSTL was opened in the United States in September 2011 by the US Food and Drug Administration, the University of Maryland and Waters.

The training facilities in the network will coordinate and share expertise. Mr Belton added, “We welcome this opportunity to be able to pass on our expertise in food analytical testing. This is underpinned by more than 30 years’ scientific experience in the area, together with detailed knowledge of current and emerging regulations, and internationally recognised quality standards. All of our food analysis work is carried out in modern laboratories by highly trained scientists, using state-of-the-art analytical equipment.”

This expertise in food safety will be passed on by the 600 current staff at Fera’s Sand Hutton site.

Mr Belton said the new laboratory would generate economic activity around York, because it would lead to an increase in international visitors.

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“What makes us unique is the concentration of expertise that we have,” he added.

Mr Belton said the centre would help to deal with potential risks in the food supply at source.

Around 100 people, including scientists from Ireland and Africa, have already signed up for the laboratory’s training programmes.

Fera is an executive agency of the Government’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). It provides analysis and expert professional advice to Government, international organisations and the private sector, in order to support a sustainable and secure food chain and to protect the global community from biological and chemical risks.

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The Waters Corporation, which is based in Boston in the US, has annual revenues of around $1.64bn and 5,400 employees.

As part of the collaboration with Fera, Waters helped to establish the laboratory. It provided analytical systems and helped Fera in designing training programmes.

Waters Corp, executive vice president Art Caputo, said: “We are very pleased to partner with Fera in establishing this lab near York.

“We believe that this collaboration will lead to better science and technology, and this in turn will help us raise the bar on food safety.

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“We know the scale of this challenge requires us to address it globally, which is why we are excited to expand the IFSTL work.”

Lord de Mauley, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at Defra, said: “This will improve food safety testing for food imported into the EU, ensuring food is safe before it reaches our tables.”

The courses are due to start next month. For further information, visit www.defra.gov.uk/fera/ifstl