Food Safety Net(work)

“When we buy our food, we place our trust in others – from farm to fork… or net to knife,” said Lord de Mauley, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, UK at the opening of the Fera IFSTL in York in January. 

Fera IFSTL will provide hands-on laboratory-based training in analytical techniques for food safety. Its goal is to enable food-producing countries around the world to implement their own solutions and gain access to the opportunities offered by trade with Europe.

“When we buy our food, we place our trust in others – from farm to fork… or net to knife,” said Lord de Mauley, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, UK at the opening of the Fera IFSTL in York in January. 

Fera IFSTL will provide hands-on laboratory-based training in analytical techniques for food safety. Its goal is to enable food-producing countries around the world to implement their own solutions and gain access to the opportunities offered by trade with Europe.

Lord de Mauley acknowledged our reliance on food analysis, but also made light reference to a recent, ongoing UK meat scandal: “While the challenges of meeting regulatory standards are huge, the consequences of getting it wrong are very scary indeed. Yet – despite the occasional hiccup, like horse burgers – we buy what we eat without question. And we eat it without fear.”

This is the second in a network of IFSTL facilities orchestrated by Waters Corporation. The first was opened at the University of Maryland back in September 2011 in collaboration with the US FDA, and with future IFSTLs planned for Asia, the aim of the whole network is to provide comprehensive training in food analysis to increase knowledge and facilitate global best practices. 

Given the increasing complexity of global food supply chains, moves to harmonize analytical food safety should be welcomed with open arms according to the UK’s ‘Global Food Security Champion’, Tim Belton of Leeds University. In his keynote speech, Belton backed an “international effort” and, in addition to resource scarcity, defined food security as a four-fold challenge: safety, authenticity, origin and quality – all of which place added emphasis on accurate analytical methods. Brian Smith, VP of MS Business Operations, Waters, added to the big picture: “In the UK, China, India and in the US, government budgets have not increased to keep pace with the growth of food imports […] No single organization, program or government can ensure the safety of the world’s food supply on its own. The challenge is just too big […] It requires public–private partnerships.” Waters, in addition to assisting in construction of both the facility and training programs, also supplied analytical systems, including an Acquity UPLC-MS/MS system.

Fera Chief Executive Adrian Belton said, “We welcome this opportunity to be able to pass on our expertise in food analytical testing [...] underpinned by over 30 years scientific experience in the area.” 

Upcoming courses include ‘Illegal Dyes in Foods’ and ‘Drug Residues in Aquaculture’. Importantly, the IFSTL network adopts a “train the trainer” approach to further extend the reach and impact of the facilities with a single objective in mind: safer food for everyone.

For more information on UK courses

More on the vision

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