Up to 90 research posts are being created by a £19M investment at the Food and Environment Research Agency (FERA), but fears have surfaced that its privatisation could damage its work.
Lauren McMaster's Posts (92)
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The Food Standards Agency has published the results of its survey of undeclared meat in lamb dishes from takeaway outlets across the UK. The testing was announced last year and was prompted by evidence of ongoing substitution of lamb for cheaper meats, such as beef and chicken.
L’Oréal UK & Ireland, the UK National Commission for UNESCO and the Irish National Commission for UNESCO, with the support of the Royal Society have partnered together to provide a dedicated UK & Ireland For Women in Science Fellowship programme for women scientists at post-doctoral level to enable and/or facilitate promising scientific research in the life and physical sciences.
This year five Fellowships will be awarded to outstanding female postdoctoral scientists to assist them with their research. The Fellowships, each worth £15,000 (equivalent Euros for candidates in Ireland), are tenable at any UK or Irish university or research institute to support a 12-month period of research and for the first year we will be including maths, engineering and computer science.
The Fellowship money can be spent in any number of innovative ways to enable women scientists to pursue their careers and facilitate world class research - such as buying equipment, paying for childcare or funding travel costs to an overseas conference.
Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) introduced the Safe Food Act of 2015 to Congress today. The legislation would consolidate federal food safety activities into one independent agency called the Food Safety Administration. Durbin and DeLauro have introduced this legislation in 1999, 2004, 2005, and 2007.
Currently, oversight of the nation’s food supply is split up among 15 different agencies. The Act states that since the safety of the food supply is vital to the public health and the economy, and lapses in the protection of food supply damage consumers and the industry, the safety and security of the food supply requires an integrated, systemwide approach to preventing foodborne illness.
Job Purpose
To undertake research in line with the strategic objectives of the Institute for Global Food Security located within the School of Biological Sciences.
To teach at undergraduate and postgraduate level, and to contribute to Institute and School administration/outreach activities.
The post holder will also be expected to conduct administration as directed by the Head of School and to develop community service as part of the wider role of Queen’s in the community.
We are seeking a competent, driven and enthusiastic Post-Doctoral Research Fellow to undertake research, and coordinate selected research and stakeholder engagement activities, as part of a team involving Teagasc, NUIG, UCD and DIT.
The ultimate aim of the team is to provide a knowledge base to support the development of a bio-economy strategy for Ireland, including identifying 8 value chains most likely to generate near-term economic impact for Ireland and preparing recommendations in respect of development frameworks necessary to underpin commercial exploitation of the priorities value chains.
The Post-Doctoral Research Fellow will have excellent research and organisational skills in addition to personal communication skills necessary to effectively engage with partners and internal (Teagasc) and external stakeholders.
The postholder will form part of an effective team to deliver the relevant elements of the FSA in Scotland work as required by statutory obligations, the organisation's Strategic Plan and as determined by Scottish Ministers.
Salary: £26,750
Closing date: 29 January 2015
Location: Aberdeen
Teagasc seeks to appoint a Senior Food Scientist and Head of Programme to develop, manage and lead the Teagasc Food Programme. The successful candidate will be a key member of the Research Directorate Leadership Team and will have a leading role in ensuring the scientific excellence of food research and successful technology transfer from the Food Programme to the Irish food industry.
Salary: Senior Principal Research Officer (SPRO), with a starting salary of €92,134 per annum plus a Head of Programme term allowance of €8,681 per annum. The current salary scale is €92,134 to €105,440.
Location: Teagasc, Food Research Centre, Moorepark, Fermoy, Co. Cork
Closing date: 12 midnight on Thursday 5 February 2015.
The ICFMH aims to promote the mobility of young researchers between research institutions active in the field of food microbiology and hygiene. The ICFMH sponsors mobility grants as short term fellowships to assist young scientists in pursuing research at a host laboratory.
For further information please read the ICFMH Mobility Grant Guidelines here.
Application form can be downloaded here.
Deadline for application is March 31st.
Job title - Food Safety Microbiological Specialist
Location - Kylemore, Dublin
We are looking for a Food Safety Microbiological Specialist to join our talented Quality team based at our Kylemore site in Dublin. In the role, you will essentially provide the Site Operational Teams with the microbiological results of the raw material and finished goods testing to ensure product integrity and protect the consumer. Further to this, you will work collaboratively with shift operations teams to embed processes and standards relating to hygiene.
Key Responsibilities:
- Run the microbiological laboratory and ensure laboratory is operating to standard.
- Gather, interpret and communicate effectively the data from the results of the micro testing.
- Identify and action opportunities for improvements within laboratory and Quality management systems and develop a continuous improvement culture
- Schedule and carry out internal auditing, monitoring and verification activities to ensure effectiveness of management systems
- Maintain the Quality management systems and policies in order to retain relevant external and internal audit standards.
- Contribute to the development of the Quality and Environment plans.
- Support trials and new product introduction processes
- Build effective partnerships with regulatory bodies and government agencies
- Develop, implement and maintain training packages to raise Quality and Microbiological awareness and capability within specialism
- Carry out, maintain and review risk assessments.
- Study, identify and resolve by means of hygiene assessments any microbiological problem areas at all sites so that product integrity and company hygiene standards are maintained.
- Develop and implement communication systems to ensure optimum awareness across the site of Hygiene and Quality standards
- Provide data, support and advice to the Site Operations Teams to improve decision making regarding quality and food safety issues
Knowledge, Skills & Experience Required:
- In depth knowledge and experience in quality, food safety, microbiology; preferably in an FMCG environment with a good knowledge of production processes and packaging
- Previous experience of working in a specialist microbiological analytical lab
- Knowledge of risk assessment tools and systems implementation
- Knowledge of all relevant areas of legislation (food safety, quality, water, health & safety and microbiology)
- Excellent understanding of Food Defence is desirable
This course looks at food insecurity and the challenges to be overcome in order to maintain healthy and sustainable food supplies.
This is the second course in a two part series by Queen’s University Belfast looking at issues concerning the maintenance and enhancement of global food supplies, whilst improving human wellbeing in the developed and developing world.
This course will focus on threats to global food security and the challenges that need to be overcome, in order to maintain healthy and sustainable food supplies.
The course will begin by looking at global food insecurity and the potential consequences for human health. Examining links between food insecurity and the rising tide of metabolic and neurodegenerative diseases around the globe, it will demonstrate how the issue is particularly relevant in the developed world.
It will continue on to examine threats to global food security posed by parasites, which undermine the health of animals and plants, damaging food production systems globally. Having considered threats to global food security the course will look at approaches to sustaining healthy agri-food systems such as the benefits of applied genetics for fisheries management and aquaculture.
The course will conclude by considering societal concerns around animal welfare, as pressure builds to increase production intensity whilst reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Using cutting edge research undertaken by the Institute of Global Food Security (IGFS) the course will illustrate how aspects of the global food crisis might be addressed, in order to sustain and manage healthy food systems into the future.
The course is led by Professor Chris Elliott, who wrote the UK government review on the recent horsemeat scandal. To find out more, read Chris’s post for our blog: “The many faces of the global food crisis.”
This course will give you the opportunity to purchase a Statement of Participation.
Please note that the first course in this series, Tackling the Global Food Crisis: Supply Chain Integrity is NOT a pre-requisite for taking this course.
Subway has become the latest foreign fast-food brand to be involved in a food safety scandal in China, after the US sandwich chain said it was investigating local media claims that workers at a Beijing franchise altered expiration dates on food ingredients.
Continue reading - http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/27ebb6e6-8f3e-11e4-9ea4-00144feabdc0.html#ixzz3NxpHtPVG
Could your passion for social science research help us realise our vision for food? We are looking for two new members to join the Social Science Research Committee, which advises and critically assesses how the FSA gathers and uses social science evidence and advice.
At the Food Standards Agency we rely on sound evidence to help us ensure that food is safe to eat. Through dedicated research and initiatives we help UK consumers make informed food choices. Social science is part of this, it has an increasingly important role to play in helping the FSA consider challenging and complex issues.
The SSRC is one of the scientific advisory committees whose members provide evidence and challenge to the FSA through its Chief Scientific Adviser (Professor Guy Poppy) and the Director of Science, Evidence and Research (Dr Penny Bramwell).
The FSA has published the 12th annual Radioactivity in Food and the Environment (RIFE) report, which shows that the level of man-made radioactivity to which people in the UK are exposed, remained below the EU legal limit during 2013. No food safety concerns were identified.
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) today announced that Dr Pamela Byrne has been appointed Chief Executive and will take up office in March 2015, following the retirement of Prof. Alan Reilly. Dr Byrne is currently Director of Regulatory Policy and Intelligence with Abbott Nutrition. Having previously held senior positions in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, she has extensive experience of the food regulatory environment, as well as expertise in risk assessment and food safety management at both national and international levels.
A native of Cork, Dr Byrne holds a PhD in Environmental Toxicology from University College, Cork (UCC); an MSc in Aquatic Resource Management from Kings College, University of London; a BSc in Zoology from UCC and a Higher Diploma in Environmental Law from the University of Aberystwyth in Wales.
During her time at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Dr Byrne gained a deep knowledge of the food sector as an environmental toxicologist and risk assessor, and was instrumental in developing Ireland’s research and innovation policy programmes in relation to food and the bio-economy. Dr Byrne also worked in the Cabinet of the European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation - Commissioner Maire Geoghegan-Quinn.
Commenting on the announcement, Prof Michael Gibney, Chairman, FSAI stated that Dr Byrne brings an enormous breath of knowledge and expertise to the role of Chief Executive that will be invaluable in steering the FSAI to maintain its world class status, dedicated to protecting consumers’ health and interests in relation to Irish food.
“The Board warmly welcomes Dr Byrne to the FSAI and looks forward to working closely with her as Chief Executive, to deliver an exemplary regulatory environment that is to the fore in protecting public health and consumer interests in the area of food safety and hygiene. We look forward to the FSAI continuing to be a global leader in setting standards under Dr Byrne’s stewardship,” says Prof Michael Gibney.
“The Board thanks outgoing Chief Executive, Prof. Alan Reilly for the outstanding leadership he has shown during his tenure, which has led the FSAI to be regarded nationally and internationally as a highly respected regulatory body. It is fitting to note that just last month, Ireland was ranked joint first place with Canada out of 16 OECD countries for its food safety processes and performances. A reflection of Prof. Reilly’s contribution and the commitment and professionalism of his team of experts at the FSAI,” Prof. Gibney concluded.
Dr Byrne currently chairs the EU’s Joint Programming Initiative “A Healthy Diet for a Healthy Life” and the Strategic Advisory Board of the Institute of Food and Health in University College, Dublin.
The Northern Ireland Strategic Committee on Food Surveillance has published its seventh report on food sampling activity in Northern Ireland in 2013.
The report covers the targeted, risk-based, sampling and testing of food carried out by local councils in Northern Ireland across the food supply and retail chain.
In the article below Kevin Hunt, Marine Institute/UCD, gives an overview of his visit to the Polytechnic Institute of Braganca, where he attended a four day workshop on predictive modelling in food microbiology. Funding for this visit was provided under the safefood Training & Mobility Programme. More information on the programme available here.
Biography
I work at the Marine Institute in Galway as a Microbiology Analyst, and I am also a Research Masters student with UCD. My research looks at how the risk of viral contamination is assessed in commercial shellfish. Visit aims and objectives
In September 2014, the Polytechnic Institute of Bragança (IPB) hosted a four day workshop on the use of predictive modelling in food microbiology. The aim was to demonstrate how mathematical models are used to predict the reaction of food related pathogens to changes in the environment.risk of viral contamination is assessed in commercial shellfish.
Purpose and relevance
Predictive models are relevant in every food microbiology field. Commercial food must be treated or stored in particular ways that reduce the risk of contamination or spoilage. Overcompensating for this risk, however, can lead to loss of flavour or nutritional value. To determine optimal treatment requires a working model of how pathogens respond to factors like temperature and pH, as well as the matrix of the food itself.
Activities
A series of lectures covered the theory of predictive modelling. These alternated with practical sessions, which tackled real implementations of this theory using the statistical language R. The course contents included single factor models, and models with multiple factors interacting over time. There were additional lectures given by Vijay Juneja, a lead scientist with the USDA, on how models like this are used in everyday agriculture and food science.
Transfer of knowledge
The notes and problem sets provided for the workshop were very comprehensive, and represent a thorough introduction to the use of statistical programming in food safety. The backbone of the theory will be useful to the work of the Marine Institute in keeping up to date with advances in microbiological risk assessment. The language R is widely used in numeric biology, and the code provided will be useful in training staff in its use in the future. My own research, looking at risk assessment of Norovirus in commercial shellfish, has already been strengthened by the knowledge gained in this workshop, which will be a potential boost for publication of data.
Benefits and conclusions
The connections made with the academic instructors have been very helpful so far, and I anticipate staying in contact with them for the future. A lot of work clearly went into the notes and course documents provided, and they have been a popular resource so far for colleagues interested in the field. Students attending the workshop were from a diverse set of backgrounds, and the connections made with them were a tremendous illustration of how flexible and far-ranging tools like these can be. If the workshop is run again, I would recommend it to other researchers interested in statistical modelling and microbiology.
L-R: Janina Schroeder, Unknown, Vinicius Pimentel Silva, Dr. Vasco Cadavez (instructor), Dr. Alastair Carr, Dr. Ursula A. Gonzales-Barron (instructor), Kevin Hunt (participant), Dr. Vijay Juneja (instructor), Jean-Michel Nebout, Dr. Cristina Saraiva. 11-09-2014, IPB Bragança.
The European Food Information Council (EUFIC) is recruiting a Food Safety and Risk Communication Manager.
Main purpose of the job and position in the organisation
The Food Safety and Risk Communication Manager will manage and implement food safety, food quality and risk communication projects and activities. The Food Safety and Risk Communication Manager will define the food safety and risk communication annual plan, in line with EUFIC’s strategic vision, with significant opportunity to be innovative in taking the area forward. This position reports to the Director General and is part of the Senior Management Team of EUFIC.
The Food Safety and Risk Communication Manager must have solid scientific background, as well as proven experience of clearly communicating science towards specific target audiences.
The Food Standards Agency are currently advertising for a number of positions see below for more details.
The direction of work within operational delivery is constantly evolving and this role will be pivotal in ensuring technical compliance and improving standards through the work of field staff, contractors and other delivery partners.
Assistant Finance Business Partner
To support the FSA’s objective of ‘ Safer Food for the Nation’ the Agency must continually improve its management practices, including financial planning.
Senior Executive Officers/Senior Scientific Officers (5 vacancies)
You will be responsible for making sure that government policies and decisions are informed by the best scientific evidence and strategic long-term thinking in order to mitigate food safety risks.
Senior Scientific Officers (4 vacancies)
As a scientist in government, you will be responsible for making sure that government policies and decisions are informed by the best scientific evidence and strategic long-term thinking.
Higher Executive Officers/Higher Scientific Officers (2 vacancies)
You will be contributing to specific policy projects to mitigate food safety risks in relation to meat (other than TSEs). Current work areas include visual inspection of meat in slaughterhouses, delivering a proportionate regime for trichinella sampling, developing and implementing an approach to the transport of warm meat and preparing for the renegotiation of the EU hygiene legislation.
Higher Scientific Officers (5 vacancies)
As a Higher Scientific Officer in government, you will be responsible for supporting science and policy colleagues to make sure that government policies and decisions are informed by the best scientific evidence and strategic long-term thinking.
The Local Delivery Auditor is part of the Local Delivery Audit team who work closely with local authorities and other key delivery stakeholders to verify that effective food safety controls are in place locally to protect consumers and fulfil EU official control requirements.
RECAPT (Retailer and Consumer Acceptance of Promising Novel Technologies and Collaborative Innovation Management) is a three-year (2011-2014) EU-funded project which aims at supporting closer collaborative management of innovations along the food supply chain. More specifically, the RECAPT project has investigated the role of retailers and caterers in food innovation and how different players collaborate in the innovation process.
