Fera and Waters open international food safety training laboratory

A major new international food safety training facility, aimed at improving compliance with EU food import standards, has being launched by the UK Food and Environment Research Agency (Fera) and analytical equipment manufacturer Waters.

A significant proportion of food safety incidents reported in the EU are due to imports; therefore, ensuring the legal compliance and safety of imported food is vital for protecting consumers. 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 £690 billion.

The Fera International Food Safety Training Laboratory (Fera IFSTL), based near York, will primarily train scientists concerned with exporting foods to Europe. Experts from Fera will lead training programs that teach best practice methods to analysts from overseas, using technology and equipment for determining chemical contaminants and residues in food. This will enable food-producing countries around the world to implement their own solutions and gain access to the opportunities offered by trade with Europe.

Fera Chief Executive Adrian Belton said: “We welcome this opportunity to be able to pass on our expertise in food analytical testing. This is underpinned by over 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.”

The equipment to be used in the Fera IFSTL has been supplied by collaborative partner Waters, which provided its state-of-the-art Acquity UPLC-MS/MS systems, sample preparation components and mycotoxin analysis tools. The company also helped establish the laboratory’s construction and assisted Fera in designing training programs.

Formally opening the training laboratory, Lord de Mauley, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Lords), said: “It’s very encouraging to see the public and private sectors working together to facilitate trade from outside the EU. This will improve food safety testing for food imported into the EU, ensuring food is safe before it reaches our tables.”

The Fera IFSTL is being launched as part of an international network of food safety training laboratories 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, University of Maryland and Waters. The training facilities in the network will coordinate and share expertise; as new facilities are added they will do the same, increasing knowledge and the use of global best practices.

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

The Fera IFSTL dedicated training facility has the capacity to teach 200 professionals per year. In the first year of operation, courses will cover pesticide residues, veterinary drug residues and mycotoxins. In subsequent years the range of courses will be expanded, including running bespoke courses for specific customers if required, and the number and length of courses offered per year will be increased.