A taste for analysis

Governments across the globe face an increasing challenge to ensure safe food supplies. Trade is growing rapidly, regulations and technologies are changing, and tough economic conditions are shrinking budgets, adding pressure to an incredibly complex supply chain. The answer? Better analytical training says Dr Alison Wilson Global food trade has more than tripled since 1990, with exports now exceeding £688 billion ($1.1 trillion) per year.[1] This growth rate alone makes the task of assuring food safety increasingly difficult. As the food trade grows, the food chain becomes increasingly complex.  This complexity is largely due to the fact that as food moves from farm to table, many different organisations can be involved at multiple points, under varying conditions. The European Commission recently noted that the complex food supply chain and the continued growth of food exports and imports increase the risks to consumers, while also threatening European economies reliant on imports and exports.

It has become clear in recent years that food safety is a worldwide challenge. According to a recent report from the European Commission, “there has been an alarming increase in food safety incidents” over the past few years in industrialised countries[2], including a number of high profile food safety scares. For example, over the past few years there have been a number of incidents involving the detection of banned substances or unauthorised veterinary medicines in imported food. Residues of chloramphenicol and streptomycin have been found in honey and nitrofurans and chloramphenicol residues in seafood.

In order to ensure the safety and quality of food, contamination risks are best identified and tackled at the source. One of the best ways to do this is by increasing the amount of training to improve (a) detection of contaminated food and (b) exporters’ understanding of regulatory standards in target markets and how to meet them. Governments around the world recognise the potential benefits of this analytical training, and they are enacting new laws and taking steps to build food safety training capacity.

In the UK, The Food and Environment Research Agency (Fera) and Waters, a manufacturer of laboratory technology, have jointly established a laboratory-based training facility to address this critical training challenge. The new venture combines their respective regulatory, scientific and industry expertise to address food safety issues associated with EU imports.

The Fera International Food Safety Training Laboratory (IFSTL), based near York, will primarily train scientists concerned with exporting foods to Europe. Experts from Fera will lead intensive programs that teach best practice methods for detecting possible contaminants in food using state-of-the art, high-quality technology and equipment.

“Food safety is a tough challenge and improving it requires more than simple changes. Public-private collaboration, thoughtful changes by governments and a systematic approach to keep tabs on food from farm to table are all essential ingredients to improve food safety internationally,” says Dr Paul Young, who leads Waters’ Food and Environment Business.

The Fera IFSTL draws on Fera’s expertise in the application of analytical chemistry and molecular techniques to measure residues and contaminants in foods and establish food authenticity; and as the UK National Reference Laboratory for chemical contaminants in food and animal feed, pesticide residues and veterinary drug residues.

Courses will be taught by internationally recognised experts from Fera, with guest tutors drawn from a wider pool of expertise through Fera’s strong links with universities, research bodies and industry. Training will be delivered through a mix of seminars, demonstrations and practical work, which will equip trainees to better detect chemical contaminants, validate their own fit-for-purpose methods and use results to make the right decisions about whether food is safe and meets regulations. 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. This training will be targeted not only at food producers, manufacturers and processors, but also at those responsible for setting and ensuring compliance with the standards.

Dr Andrew Wadge, Chief Scientist at the UK’s Food Standards Agency, commented: “It’s very encouraging to hear of this new initiative that will train analysts from overseas in food safety testing and regulatory requirements for food being imported into the EU. A significant proportion of recorded food incidents are due to imports therefore ensuring legal compliance and safety are vital for consumer protection.”

Courses at Fera, which start in February 2013, are designed for professionals seeking to update or expand their knowledge of specific analytical areas within an EU regulatory framework, including laboratory workers, food safety enforcers and policymakers. Trainees will benefit from a learning experience, informed and guided by up-to-date knowledge of current issues in food safety, which will equip them with skills that can be applied directly in their workplace. In addition, Fera’s dedicated training facility benefits from being located on its expanding Sand Hutton Applied Innovation Campus, and forms part of a growing portfolio of commercial activities Fera is building around its expertise in analytical chemistry, diagnostics and protection, crop protection, and modelling and risk analysis.

The Fera IFSTL is the second permanent laboratory in what will become a global network.  The first IFSTL was opened in September 2011by the US Food and Drug Administration, University of Maryland, their Joint Institute for Food Safety (JIFSAN) and Applied Nutrition and Waters Corporation. This groundbreaking public-private partnership applies government, university and private industry expertise and resources to the global food safety challenge. In its first year of operating, the US IFSTL has trained scientists from 16 countries. Waters is working with governments to expand this global network of laboratories aimed at improving the science behind food safety and increase understanding of international regulatory standards. Waters believes that such a network, based in leading food production economies, can have a truly international, real-world impact by not only expanding training capability, but also by creating a permanent platform for exchange of ideas, sharing best practices and permanent channels of communication between regulators in significant geographies.

For example, the Guatemalan National Health Laboratory credits the IFSTL-JIFSAN with significantly improving their food testing capabilities. After completing training at the IFSTL-JIFSAN, they are now able to test for aflatoxin and detect ten times more compounds during pesticide testing than before. This will allow Guatemala to meet regulatory requirements, enabling them to export snow peas, sesame seeds and other products to the United States and EU.

The training facilities in the network will coordinate and share expertise. As new facilities are added to the network, they will do the same, increasing knowledge and the use of global best practices. The network will provide critical technical training that helps exporters comply with the multitude of food safety standards around the world. The laboratories will strengthen the availability, quality and consistency of food safety testing capacity. This will improve the safety of food internationally and will advance the strategy of defending against contaminated food at the source.

Government and industry food safety professionals will also be able to use the network as a clearing house for information on international food safety regulations, testing methods and chemistries, and government agency notices and announcements, which will help establish permanent channels of communication and spread the use of best practices.

Benefits of a Global Network

The IFSTL network helps improve global food safety by:

• Leveraging the expertise of public sector organisations such as Fera and the U.S. FDA, in partnership with academic institutions and multinational private sector organisations such as Waters;
• Providing education to scientists from countries in all regions and of all sizes, and spreading the use of best practices;
• Increasing understanding of the key parties that work to ensure the global food supplies are safe, including government organizations, the food industry and private laboratories;
• Fostering global dialogue and coordination, by creating a platform for exchange of ideas and establishing a permanent channel of communication between regulators in significant geographies;
• Helping to harmonize food safety standards by creating a model for training, expertise and technology.

Author Dr Alison Wilson is the Media Officer at the Food and Environment Research Agency.

References:

1. International Trade Statistics 2011, World Trade Organization,
2. Innovating for Sustainable Growth: A Bioeconomy for Europe, 2012,