Jen Brady

With a full year of testing in the bag and significant customer feedback, Fapas have now refined their programme of wine proficiency tests to give customers’ a wider choice of different analytes to suit their requirements.

Next steps for food regulation in the UK - adapting to the new regulatory framework and priorities post-Brexit

with

Heather Hancock, Chair, Food Standards Agency

and

Dr Camilla Alexander-White, Royal Society of Chemistry; Ian Andrews, Royal Borough of Greenwich; Jim Cathcart, UKHospitality; Dr Chris Kebbell, New Zealand High Commission London; Tony Lewis, Royal Agriculture University; Susan MacDonald, Fera Science; Geoff Ogle, Food Standards Scotland; Katrina Walsh, The International Meat Trade Association and Dominic Watkins, DWF

Chaired by:

Dr David Drew MP, Shadow Minister, Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

This conference examines key issues for the future of food regulation across the UK - and includes a keynote address from Heather Hancock, Chair, Food Standards Agency.

Adapting to a new regulatory framework - implementation to date

Delegates will assess the ongoing implementation of the Food Standards Agency’s (FSA) Regulating Our Future (ROF) programme - which aims to modernise the regulatory system for food to improve flexibility and the ability to respond to technological change, and cater for an evolving and increasingly diverse sector.

Sessions bring out discussion on:

• Local responsibilities, powers and resources;
• Impact on environmental health professionals, including accreditation;
• Issues for businesses - evidence of compliance, data sharing and online registration;
• Rapid response - surveillance, horizon scanning and traceability; and
• Consumer engagement - confidence in UK food supply chains, composition and safety of food.

Priorities going forward

Delegates will also look ahead to next steps for implementation in light of updated priorities outlined by the FSA including:

• The scaling up of online food business registration;
• Moving towards a risk-based approach to regulation with the segmenting of food businesses;
• Changing the regulatory relationship between businesses and local authorities through the Primary Authority National Inspection Strategy;
• Examining the future funding model for food regulation; and
• Developing a framework for the statutory food hygiene scheme in England.

The impact of Brexit on food regulation

Further discussion focuses on the future relationship with food regulation in Europe and beyond, looking at the potential impact of Brexit on food regulatory systems, and the supply chain, as well as the outlook for new markets - the impact of any future trade deals on food standards, and next steps for policy.

We also expect discussion on plans for replacement of risk functions currently undertaken by the European Commission and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), as the FSA has consulted on potential amendments to food and animal feed law.

Susan MacDonald, a Science Lead in Mycotoxins & Natural Toxins here at Fera, will be speaking at the Westminster Food & Nutrition Forum Keynote seminar: Next Steps for Food Regulation in the UK. Susan leads our experienced Mycotoxin team, who are the UK National Reference Laboratory for Mycotoxins and Plant Toxins in Food and Feed. Fera has extensive knowledge in the analysis of mycotxins in food, feed and food crops.

For more information about our work as the National Reference Laboratory, click the link below:

Further Information

For more information about the event and to book your place, click the link below:

Further Information

Fera and Fapas are speaking at the APA Conference

Marriott Hotel, Cardiff

The Association of Public Analysts (also known as the APA) is the professional body for the highly-skilled scientists who make up the front-line of the UK's public protection service. The Public Analyst works to ensure the health and safety of the public in relation to food, animal feed, water, environmental matters and consumer protection.

Fera as a UK National Reference Laboratory, are pleased to announce that Dr Warwick Anderson will be giving an regulatory update on ‘Determination of 2- and 3-MCPD and of Fatty Acid Esters of 2- and 3-MCPD and Glycidol in food and food ingredients’. Craig Eaton, Fapas Team Manager will also be speaking at the conference.

The APA also have a number of excellent speakers lined up from Syngenta, the MHRA and the Public Analyst Service in Southern Ireland. Other speakers include the author Nicola Temple who co-wrote the book ‘Sorting The Beef From The Bull’ and a representative from the Food Standards Agency. Duncan Thorburn Burns will also give a presentation to the first female APA President, Joan Peden.

We are delighted to announce that we will be co-sponsoring the annual dinner at this years’ APA Conference on the evening of Friday 26th October 2018 at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff. We hope to see you there.

Fapas Proficiency Tests

Fapas proficiency testing provides an independent assessment of your laboratory performance and compares your results to laboratories worldwide. Taking part in our proficiency tests gives you confidence in your laboratory equipment, methods and staff, and assurance that you are delivering the quality results demanded by your customer.

Fapas Reference Materials

Reference Materials (RMs) are also available from Fapas for some analyte/matrix combinations. RMs have a much higher degree of characterisation than PT or QC materials with a defined chain of traceability. RMs undergo formal stability testing for both short-term and long-term applications.

Fapas QC

Quality Control (QC) samples may be used for troubleshooting poor performance in the PT, training of new staff, method development or generating QC charts. Fapas QCs have an associated datasheet which provides the same data of assigned values and performance limits as in the PT.