Fera and Waters Corp. Announce International Food Safety Training Laboratory

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• Publié par: waters-corporation
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• Langue: English

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Fera and Waters Corp. Announce International

Food Safety Training Laboratory

PR Newswire

LONDON, June 13, 2012

- Will Improve Detection of Contaminated Food, Make Global Food Supplies

Safer

LONDON

,

June 13, 2012

/PRNewswire/ -- The Food and Environment Research

Agency (Fera) based in

York, U.K.

, and Waters Corporation (NYSE: WAT) based

in the U.S. have today announced that they will open a new laboratory-based

training facility, combining their respective regulatory, scientific and industry

expertise to help solve the global food safety 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. The EC noted that the complex food supply chain and

the continued growth of food exports and imports — which today exceed

690

billion pounds Sterling

(over

860 billion Euros

) annually — increase the risks to

consumers while also posing risks to European economies reliant on seafood

exports, for example.

The Fera International Food Safety Training Laboratory (Fera IFSTL) will help by

teaching the best available techniques for testing for food contamination and

educating them on the different food safety regulatory standards around the

world. This will help testing organisations to better detect contaminated food at

farms, ports and manufacturing plants and increase compliance with food

regulations, ensuring food is safe before it reaches the table. The training

facility, based near

York

, will primarily train those concerned with exporting

foods to

Europe

.

Fera Chief Executive Adrian Belton welcomed the initiative, saying, "This is an

excellent collaborative opportunity which will lead to real benefits throughout

Europe

and beyond. Fera's food science experts are internationally recognised

and now they will be able to pass on that expertise through this new purpose

built training centre. This initiative is just one of several recent developments

that support the development of a science and innovation campus at this site."

At the Fera laboratory, Fera scientists will lead intensive training programmes

on EU-recommended testing methods for detecting possible contaminants in

food using the latest technology and equipment. Courses will focus on detecting

chemical contaminants preparing and testing samples according to fit-for-

purpose methods to allow scientists to validate and use results to make the

right decisions about whether food is safe and meets regulatory requirements.

Dr Andrew Wadge, Chief Scientist at the Food Standards Agency, an

independent Government department set up by an Act of Parliament in 2000 to

protect the public's health and consumer interests in relation to food, offered

this third-party perspective, "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."

The training facility collaboration with Fera is the second in a network of

international food safety training labs established in partnership with Waters™.

The first IFSTL was opened in

the United States

in

September 2011

by the U.S.

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 to the network, they will do the same, increasing knowledge and the use

of global best practices.

As a global company that delivers analytical solutions for governments and

name-brand companies in 150 countries, Waters understands the challenges

that governments around the world face to ensure safe food supplies.

Said Waters Corp. Executive Vice President Art Caputo: "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."

Fera employs over 700 scientists, many of whom are world-leading authorities

in their field, enabling the organisation to play a key role in tackling the global

food and environmental challenges of the next decade. Its state-of-the-art

laboratories near

York

have the potential to achieve many more new synergies

through further development of the site as a hub for related science and

innovation.

Several international organisations, including the Asia-Pacific Economic

Cooperation (APEC) and the World Bank, have recognised the value of

improving food safety at the origin, which requires a thorough understanding of

domestic and regional regulatory standards, and appropriate scientific training

to meet those standards. Governments and food manufacturers around the

world have sought the training the IFSTL provides as part of their efforts to

ensure food safety and protect consumers.

As part of the collaboration with Fera, Waters will help establish the laboratory's

construction, provide analytical systems and assist Fera in designing training

programs. The facility will be equipped with Waters' state-of-the-art ACQUITY®,

UPLC® -MS/MS systems, sample preparation components, and mycotoxin

analysis tools.

About Waters Corporation

(www.waters.com)

For more than 50 years, Waters Corporation has created business advantages

for laboratory-dependent organisations by delivering practical and sustainable

innovation to enable significant advancements in such areas as healthcare

delivery, environmental management, food safety, and water quality

worldwide.

Pioneering a connected portfolio of separations science, laboratory information

management, mass spectrometry and thermal analysis, Waters technology

breakthroughs and laboratory solutions provide an enduring platform for

customer success.

With revenue of

$1.85 billion

in 2011 and 5,700 employees, Waters is driving

scientific discovery and operational excellence for customers worldwide.

Waters, ACQUITY and UPLC are trademarks of Waters Corporation.

About Fera

(www.fera.defra.gov.uk)

The Food and Environment Research Agency (Fera) is an Executive Agency of

the UK Government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

(Defra). Its remit is to provide robust evidence, rigorous analysis and expert

professional advice to government, international organisations and the private

sector, in order to support and develop a sustainable and secure food chain, a

healthy natural environment, and to protect the global community from

biological and chemical risks.