News
1-June-2009 - From raspberry ripple ice cream to
REACH – the Government Chemist protects the public through
scientific innovation
Government Chemist Review 2008 published
25 formal samples were
submitted to the Government Chemist for referee analysis in 2008 by
UK local enforcement authorities and food & feed business
owners under the Food Safety Act and the Agriculture Act. As in
recent years, many of these samples were imported food and feed
products alleged to be contaminated with harmful aflatoxins
produced by mould growth, and the Government Chemist
continued to improve, extend and validate the required methods of
measurement. The Government Chemist Review 2008 has now been
published and highlights some of the more diverse and
technologically innovative cases.
The Government Chemist has
statutory roles and is appointed by the Secretary of State to
advise government, industry and all concerned on the dependencies
between analytical chemistry, policy, standards and regulation.
LGC, as the designated national measurement institute for chemical
and bioanalysis, coordinates the Government Chemist’s innovation
base and science and technology programme at Teddington, Middlesex,
UK.
An expert opinion on the
species of fruit present in samples of 'ripple' ice cream is an
example of our work to help resolve regulatory disputes to provide
cost-effective protection to both industry and the consumer. The
complexity of this product required us to deploy a mix of
traditional, innovative analytical, and molecular biology
techniques.
Another Government Chemist
opinion outlined in the Review, based on testing the material
properties of jelly mini-cups, will help safeguard the public from
choking hazards.
The Government Chemist
Review 2008, in which LGC’s work for the Department for Innovation,
Universities and Skills (DIUS) for the year 2008 is
summarised, is now available to all stakeholders. Key points of
this year’s review include:
- LGC continued to support the independent Government Chemist
function by providing facilities, expertise and links with the
wider analytical community, and particularly through R&D
programmes funded by DIUS to explore and exploit novel areas of
measurement science.
- The Review reports progress on a wide front, including new
methods for measuring allergens in food, speciation of trace
elements for nutritional and healthcare benefit, a powerful
platform for isotope-based investigative analysis, a digital
approach to DNA measurement, and novel technology for cell biology
research.
- The Government Chemist has a wider duty to advise interested
stakeholders, including government and industry, on how analytical
measurement links into policy, standards and regulation. The
REACH Regulation continued to be
a high priority as we extended our seminar programme into the
Yorkshire region and published up-to-the-minute guidance to help
companies entering substance information exchange forum (SIEF)
arrangements tackle the question of sameness between their chemical
products.
Electronic copies of the
Government Chemist Review 2008 are available at: http://www.governmentchemist.org.uk/Publications.aspx?m=75&amid=743
and can also be requested by
email to: government.chemist@lgc.co.uk
- Ends -
About the Government Chemist
role
LGC and the Government Chemist role date back
to 1842 when the Laboratory of the Board of Excise was set up to
detect adulterants in tobacco. The statutory role of the Government
Chemist is underpinned by a programme of work at LGC funded by the
Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills. When the
Government Chemist is called upon as a referee analyst in a
dispute, under the Food Safety Act 1990 or the Agriculture Act
1970, LGC’s Life & Food Sciences Division is usually involved,
as disputes frequently relate to food matters, from species
identification to labelling.
Under terms agreed when LGC was privatised,
the Government Chemist is appointed in open competition by DIUS and
is required to be a director of LGC, which is contracted to carry
out the necessary scientific work in support of the Government
Chemist function.
Notes to
editors: